The cheaper car to buy is oftenthe dearer one to own

Showroom prices are published everywhere and settle nothing. Depreciation, fuel and service run for years after it. Put two cars side by side under the same assumptions and the order often reverses.

Compareagainstand

City₹102.12/L12,000 km a yearfor 5 yearsfinanced 80%

Over 5 years the Honda City costs ₹10 L less to own than the Jeep Compass.

Depreciation

Loan interest

Fuel

Insurance

Periodic service

Repairs

Tyres and battery

Five-year cost

Per km

HondaCity₹14 L ex-showroom

₹7,23,000

₹2,90,742

₹3,82,950

₹1,13,962

₹26,100

₹33,750

₹13,735

₹16 L

₹26.40

JeepCompass₹25 L ex-showroom

₹12,63,000

₹5,07,894

₹4,37,657

₹1,86,322

₹1,07,880

₹12,825

₹70,175

₹26 L

₹43.10

Both columns use the same city, mileage, term and financing — change one control and every column moves. A blank row means nobody has reported that cost for that model, so it is left out of the total rather than guessed; a car with more blanks may be cheaper on paper only because less is known about it.