Luxury cars under CAP Total Cost of Motoring scrutiny

SCRUTINY: BMW X5 the most commonly-searched

Economy-conscious car buyers are more interested in the ownership costs of a BMW X5 than any other car, CAP Automotive data has shown.

Car-seeking motorists used CAP’s Total Cost of Motoring tool to research the long-term ownership costs for 256 different models during December 2013.

The BMW X5 topped the list of most investigated cars, with 4% of all queries, while the Ford Fiesta came second with 3%.

Other prestige cars in the top ten included the Porsche Cayenne, BMW 5 Series and Lexus IS, while the Volkswagen Golf also featured.

Philip Nothard, Retail and Consumer Expert at CAP, said: “These figures are surprising because we would not expect imminent buyers of large 4x4s or luxury cars to be as conscious of predicted long-term ownership costs as motorists on a smaller budget looking into more obviously economical cars.

“So while the Fiesta’s two appearances in the most popular ten cars being investigated by people looking closely at their motoring budget is entirely predictable, the appearance of the Porsche Cayenne at number seven is much less expected.

“We know that large 4x4s have been one of the largest growth sectors in recent years – even during the recession – and this data shows that many people have a luxury SUV in mind for their next car.

“But most interestingly it also shows that the buyers of larger, more prestige cars are just as eager to know how much the vehicle will cost them to own over time as the less well-off consumer who is looking for a small, inexpensive runabout.”

CAP Total Cost of Motoring is a free-to-use guide to the complete future expenses of car ownership, taking into account depreciation, fuel, servicing, road tax and other factors.