Kelley Blue Book Awards Mazda with Lowest Cost of Ownership

When you’re shopping for a new car, it’s easy to get distracted by the initial price tag. But cars cost more than just the upfront expense. Maintenance will cost more on some makes and models, and so will the parts needed for maintenance. Insurance on sports cars, for example, will almost always cost more than a family sedan. There’s the always-fluctuating price of gas, which some cars drink much faster than others. And then you take into account that the second you drive the car off of the lot, the value immediately depreciates. In short, a car will cost you a lot more over the course of ownership than just the initial price.

Every year, Kelley Blue Book—the primary guidebook for automotive value—chooses a manufacturer that has the most affordable five-year cost. The 5-Year Cost to Own Award takes into consideration things like the KBB Fair Purchase Price, fuel economy, parts and maintenance costs, depreciation, and other factors that affect the amount of money a driver will spend on a car. Essentially, the winner of this award in any given category will cost you the least to own and drive over the course of five years.

The 5-Year Cost to Own Award was presented to Mazda overall as a manufacturer, and the Mazda5 specifically received the 2013 5-Year Cost to Own Award in the Minivan/Van class. The fact that Mazda won the award as a manufacturer means that any buyer will see great value in any of Mazda’s fleet, like the Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda5, and the CX-5.

Given Mazda’s latest efforts using their new SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY, which saw Mazda redesign their rotary engines to produce better performance while reducing emissions and improving gas mileage, as well as reducing the weight while improving the stiffness and suspension, it’s not really a surprise that cost of ownership is highly valued. Mazda models depreciate slowly, get great mileage, and boast a great driver experience. SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY is currently found in the CX-5 and the Mazda6, but will soon be found in every new Mazda.

Kelley Blue Book looks at 22 different market segments, and presents an award in each. They look at each model of each make in order to determine their choices, and then average the Cost to Own projections across each model.

Learn more about the KBB 5-Year Cost to Own awards here.