Which petrol hatchback between Rs 3.5-Rs 6.5 lakh has the lowest maintenance cost?

Maruti Suzuki vehicles are touted to have the least maintenance cost. But CarToq report found out that the long term maintenance cost for routine servicing of the Ford Figo is almost the same as that for the Maruti Suzuki Ritz. Here are the report’s details for the premium hatchbacks.

The hatchbacks included in this report include the Chevrolet Beat, Maruti Ritz, Ford Figo, Tata Indica Vista and Nissan Micra, which are all priced in the Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 6.5 lakh price range. To read the report on maintenance cost of petrol hatchbacks priced less than Rs 3.5 lakh, click here.

Methodology

We gathered data for these cars related to paid service costs for standard requirements such as charges for engine oil, air filter, oil filter, coolant top-ups, and brake fluid top-ups. We also included associated labour charges for these services.

The service charge and labor charges for each model were gathered from authorized service stations of cars. We also assumed that each car has traveled 40,000 km, and then computed service charge costs for each car over this lifetime.

The total service cost was then converted into per kilometer cost (total service costs up to 40,000 km/40,000km). We have called this number the Maintenance Cost Index for each car (which actually works out into paise).

Listed below are maintenance costs for petrol small cars, with the car with lowest maintenance cost index listed on top. The lower the index value, the lower the maintenance cost of the car.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz

The Maruti Suzuki Ritz is cheaper than its sibling the Swift, not just in retail price, but also when it comes to maintenance. The cost of service for a 40,000 km run Ritz is Rs. 12,265.

Maintenance cost index: 30 paise.

Ford Figo

Ford India has definitely managed to reduce the maintenance costs of vehicles and the Figo is a clear example. A 40,000 km driven Figo petrol claims a service cost of Rs. 12,700 and that is pretty close to that of the Maruti Ritz’ service cost (Rs. 12,265).

Maintenance cost index: 31 paise.

Nissan Micra

The service cost of Nissan Micra lies in between that of Figo and the Tata Indica Vista. A 40,000 km driven Micra would cost Rs. 13,700 for routine servicing.

Maintenance cost index: 34 paise.

Tata Indica Vista

Surprisingly, the maintenance cost of the Vista is on the higher side when compared to Figo and Ritz. A 40,000 km driven Vista, will have you spend Rs. 14,500 on service.

Maintenance cost index: 36 paise.

Chevrolet Beat

Chevrolet offers the Beat with a comprehensive 3 years/45,000 km maintenance package, just like it offers for the Spark. The maintenance package is a wise option as it costs Rs. 18,000 which is less than the actual service cost (Rs. 23,000).

Maintenance cost index: 45 paise.

Summary

Among the maintenance cost of cars evaluated here, the Ritz has the cheapest service cost while the service cost of Beat is the dearest. The following table clearly shows the comparative maintenance cost per km.

[table id=116 /]

Note: The costs mentioned in this article are estimated service costs only, actual service costs may vary.