The Real 5-Year Cost of Owning India's Best-Selling Cars

Most people choose a car by two numbers: the price and the mileage. Both are the wrong place to look. The real cost of a car is what it loses in value while you own it, plus what you spend keeping it running. When you add those up, the ranking flips: the cheapest car to buy is often not the cheapest to own.

We ran the numbers on 14 of India’s best-selling cars over a typical 5-year, 60,000 km ownership, and found the single biggest cost is not fuel at all. It is depreciation, which works out to around 65% of the total on average. Here is the full study, with the cars that quietly cost you the least, and the ones that drain far more than their sticker price suggests.

At a glance

• Cheapest to own: the Maruti WagonR, at about ₹10 per km all-in over 5 years.
• Most expensive here: the Mahindra Scorpio N (diesel), at about ₹28 per km.
• The big surprise: depreciation is roughly 65% of the total cost of ownership, far more than fuel.
• Buy price lies: a ₹11.2 lakh Maruti Brezza costs less to own than a cheaper-to-buy Tata Nexon, Kia Sonet or Hyundai Venue, because strong resale beats a lower price tag.
• The EV catch: electric cars have tiny running costs but the heaviest depreciation, so at average mileage they can cost more to own than a petrol car, not less.

What this study covers

• The full 5-year cost-to-own table
• Why depreciation, not fuel, is the real cost
• Cheapest to buy is not cheapest to own
• The EV twist: cheap to run, expensive to own
• What this means when you buy
• How we calculated this
• FAQ

The real 5-year cost to own India's best-sellers

This is the total cost of owning each car for 5 years and 60,000 km (12,000 km a year): the depreciation (what you lose when you sell), plus fuel, plus routine servicing. Ranked from cheapest to most expensive to own.

Why depreciation, not fuel, is the real cost

The number that shocks most buyers is this: across these 14 cars, depreciation is about 65% of the total cost of ownership. You spend more money losing value than you ever spend on petrol.

Take the Tata Nexon. Over 5 years its fuel and servicing come to about ₹4.28 lakh. But it loses about ₹6.73 lakh in resale value in the same time. The fuel bill everyone worries about is smaller than the depreciation nobody thinks about. This is why the mileage figure on the windscreen sticker is a poor guide to what a car actually costs you.

Depreciation is driven by three things: the brand’s resale reputation, the fuel type, and how much you drive. You can estimate it for any specific car and price with our Car Depreciation Calculator.

Cheapest to buy is not cheapest to own

Here is the finding that should change how you shop. Look at the crowded ₹11 to 12 lakh compact-SUV band:

The Maruti Brezza costs the most to buy of the petrol cars here, yet the least to own. Over 5 years it works out roughly ₹2 lakh cheaper than a Tata Nexon that had a lower sticker price. The reason is resale: Maruti (and Toyota) hold their value far better than most rivals, so you get more back when you sell. A slightly higher price with strong resale beats a slightly lower price with average resale, almost every time.

The lesson: do not chase the lowest ex-showroom price. Chase the lowest cost to own. On a five-year view a strong-resale Maruti or Toyota is usually the cheaper car, even when it costs more up front.

The EV twist: cheap to run, expensive to own

Electric cars flip the usual maths, and not always in your favour. Look at the Tata Punch EV: its 5-year fuel-and-service bill is about ₹1 lakh, versus roughly ₹4.28 lakh for a petrol Tata Nexon. That is a huge ₹3.28 lakh saving on running cost.

But the Punch EV loses about ₹8.41 lakh in depreciation, against ₹6.73 lakh for the Nexon. EVs still depreciate harder in India because used-EV demand and battery worries drag resale down. So the running-cost saving is partly eaten by the steeper value loss. The MG Windsor EV is the sharp example: it loses about 82% of its value in five years in our model, which makes it one of the most expensive cars here to own despite a middling price.

This does not mean skip EVs. It means the EV maths depends heavily on how much you drive. At 12,000 km a year the depreciation wins and the EV costs more to own. Drive 25,000 km a year and the fuel saving grows until the EV pulls ahead. Work out your own break-even with the Car Running Cost Calculator, and remember EVs also pay zero road tax in most states, a saving we cover in our road tax by state study.

What this means when you buy

• Weigh resale as heavily as price. A Maruti or Toyota that costs a bit more up front is often the cheaper car over five years. Average-resale brands (Tata, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra) need a real discount to match them on cost to own.
• Mileage matters less than you think. Fuel is only about a third of the total. A frugal engine helps, but it will never rescue a car that depreciates badly.
• Big and diesel is expensive to keep. The Scorpio N tops the cost-to-own list here, because a large, thirsty, higher-priced car loses more in absolute rupees even with decent resale.
• For EVs, do the km maths first. Great if you drive a lot and can charge at home. At low annual kilometres, a strong-resale petrol car can be cheaper to own.

Not sure which car fits your budget and use once ownership cost is factored in? Our Find Your Car tool gives you three matched picks, and the Car Loan EMI Calculator shows the real monthly cost if you are financing.

How we calculated this

We took 14 of India’s consistently best-selling cars at a typical popular-variant ex-showroom price, and projected ownership over 5 years and 60,000 km (12,000 km a year). Cost to own here is the sum of three things: depreciation (ex-showroom price minus estimated resale value after 5 years), fuel (at July 2026 prices of ₹102 a litre petrol, ₹95 diesel and ₹9 a unit for home EV charging, with 5% annual fuel inflation), and routine servicing.

Resale is estimated from a typical Indian depreciation curve, adjusted for the brand’s resale strength and the fuel type, the same model behind our depreciation calculator. It is an estimate, not a quote for any one car: real resale depends on the exact variant, condition, service history and your city, so for a specific used-car price check Orange Book Value, CarWale or Cars24. We did not include insurance or the one-time road tax, which sit on top and vary by state (see our road tax by state study). Figures are indicative for 2026 and change over time. Compiled by CarThings.

FAQ

What is the cheapest car to own in India? Among India’s best-sellers, the Maruti WagonR is the cheapest to own in our study, at about ₹10 per km over 5 years and 60,000 km, thanks to a low price, strong resale and good mileage. The Swift and Dzire are next.

Is the cheapest car to buy also the cheapest to own? Usually not. A ₹11.2 lakh Maruti Brezza costs about ₹2 lakh less to own over 5 years than a cheaper-to-buy Tata Nexon, because Maruti’s stronger resale outweighs the higher purchase price.

What is the biggest cost of owning a car? Depreciation, the value the car loses over time. In our study it is about 65% of the total cost of ownership on average, well ahead of fuel. This is why resale value matters more than mileage.

Are electric cars cheaper to own in India? Not always. EVs have very low running costs but depreciate faster, so at average mileage (around 12,000 km a year) they can cost more to own than a petrol car. If you drive a lot and charge at home, the maths swings in the EV’s favour.

Do these figures include insurance and road tax? No. This study counts depreciation, fuel and servicing, the three biggest and most comparable costs. Insurance and a one-time road tax sit on top and vary by state and price.