What Luxury SUV above the $40,000 bracket has the lowest ownership costs?
You might think it is greatly dependent on the monthly payment. But as we learned in the past initial cost and low payment are only part of the equation. As in the previous exercises I again will compare lease cost amongst several luxury brands to get an idea what the typical ownership cost are for the vehicles over the course of 36 months at the accumulation rate of 10,000 miles a year.
While 10,000 miles a year may not be you cup of tea, all except one on the manufacturer had bargain basement deals at this particular mile interval. The Infiniti was currently only advertising a 27 month term but a quick call to the finance manager at the local dealership gave me the $506 month with the correct terms to compare. (Thanks, Ron) Another call to the local Lexus dealership gave me the corrected figure for the RX350 from 12,000 miles as well.
Our lucky candidates for the final comparison in the series are the following in alphabetical order are:
Acura MDX, Audi Q7 3.6 liter, BMW X5 3.0 liter, Infiniti FX35, Lexus RX350, and the Mercedes ML350.
Since all of these makers have excellent warranties, the short duration of our ownership example show that there should be no out of pocket repair expenses so reliability is not a factor in the overall cost.
Round 1: MSRP – Acura
$40,665 Acura MDX
$41,360 Infiniti FX35
$43,455 Mercedes Benz ML350
$44,255 Lexus RX350
$45,900 BMW X5
$50,110 Audi Q7
Round 2: Down Payment - BMW & Mercedes Benz
$2850 BMW X5
$2850 Mercedes Benz ML350
$3000 Lexus RX 350
$3000 Infiniti FX35
$3000 Audi Q7
$3419 Acura MDX
Round 3: Monthly Payment – Acura
$499 Acura MDX
$506 Infiniti FX35
$539 Mercedes ML350
$634 Lexus RX350
$549 Audi Q7
$689 BMW X5
Round 4: Insurance – Acura
$9393 Acura MDX
$9621 Lexus RX350
$10405 Infiniti FX35
$11245 BMW X5
$11976 Audi Q7
$14058 Mercedes Benz ML350
Round 5: Maintenance – BMW
$0 BMW X5
$362 Infiniti FX35
$429 Acura MDX
$542 Lexus RX350
$610 Audi Q7
$639 Mercedes Benz ML350
Round 6: Fuel – Infiniti
$4468 Infiniti FX35
$5122 Lexus RX350
$5250 BMW X5
$5385 Acura MDX
$5526 Mercedes Benz ML350
$5833 Audi Q7
Round 7: Total Expenditure over 36 Months – Infiniti
$36,441 Infiniti FX35
$36,590 Acura MDX
$41,109 Lexus RX350
$41,183 Audi Q7
$42,349 BMW X5
$44,144 Mercedes Benz ML350
While the Infiniti apparently just beat the Acura over the term, the others trailed significantly behind in total cost to the owner. One note of interest would be while the Mercedes was 3rd lowest in payment and shared in the least money out of pocket initially, significantly higher insurance cost and a healthy appetite for premium fuel eroded any potential saving placing it dead last. The Audi on the other hand was at a $5850 price disadvantage coming out of the box and almost caught the Lexus by the end of the term. These two vehicles were a virtual dead heat in operating costs over the term. A similar note over 48 months flipped the comparison by only $48 towards the Audi.
Sources:
Round 1: MSRP: Manufacturer
Round 2: Down Payment: Manufacturer
Round 3: Payment: Manufacturer
Round 4: Yahoo automobiles
Round 5: Yahoo automobiles
Round 6: Fuel cost calculated using EPA estimates @ $3.50 a gallon
Round 7: Totals of round 1+2+4+5+6 plus monthly lease payment times 36 months