Auto Cost Compared

Powertrain

A petrol car at 60,000 km a year

Professional driving, cross-country work, the car as a place of business. Here is what that does to a petrol car.

Updated 2 min read 10 citations

The shape at 60,000 km for ICE

The ranking inverts: energy is the largest line, maintenance is a serious one, and depreciation — high in absolute terms because the car is worn out sooner — becomes a smaller share of a much larger total. Anything with a mileage cap is the wrong instrument. Own it, run it, replace it on condition. [1]

Cost-line weights for ICE at 60,000 km a year A bar chart combining the powertrain’s cost-line profile with the mileage band’s, on an ordinal scale, for a petrol car driven 60,000 km a year. Energy / fuel5Maintenance4Depreciation3Insurance3Tax & fees3Financing cost2
Powertrain and distance together. A line that is heavy for both ICE and this mileage is the one this driver should decide on. Ordinal combination consistent with the total-cost-of-ownership literature cited on this page.

Which way to pay fits ICE at 60,000 km

How well each financing structure fits 60,000 km a year A bar chart grading each financing structure from 1 (poorly suited) to 4 (well suited) for a driver covering 60,000 km a year. Cash purchase4/4Bank or credit-union loan4/4Manufacturer (captive) financing3/4Salary sacrifice2/4PCP (personal contract purchase)1/4Lease / PCH1/4Car subscription1/4
Fit at 60,000 km a year. Structures with a mileage cap — lease, PCP, subscription — fall away as distance rises; outright ownership climbs. This is the comparison the monthly figure hides. Grading: our reading of how each structure’s terms behave with distance, not a formal assessment.

The ICE specifics at this distance

One line, one price, rising in step with distance. No cheap-tariff option exists.

Still competitive at low mileage, where energy barely matters and the lower purchase price dominates. Loses ground steadily as distance rises and as tax regimes tighten.

Compare

Is a petrol car worth it at 60,000 km a year?
Still competitive at low mileage, where energy barely matters and the lower purchase price dominates. Loses ground steadily as distance rises and as tax regimes tighten. The ranking inverts: energy is the largest line, maintenance is a serious one, and depreciation — high in absolute terms because the car is worn out sooner — becomes a smaller share of a much larger total.
Should I lease a petrol car at 60,000 km a year?
A poor fit at this distance. Battery warranty mileage caps and business-use insurance terms are the fine print that matters here; both are hit far sooner than most buyers assume.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. How to Improve the Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Vehicles: An Analysis of the Light Commercial Vehicle Segment Lebeau P, Macharis C, Van Mierlo J · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2019 · Journal article DOI
  2. Total cost of ownership of electric and gasoline used vehicles Woody M, Yin S, Green A, et al. · Environmental Research Letters · 2026 · Journal article DOI
  3. Ownership Levies and Electric Vehicle Adoption: A Total Cost of Ownership and Legal Analysis of Ukraine’s Fiscal Reversal Vovk Y, Vovk I, Martsenko N, et al. · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2026 · Journal article DOI
  4. Route-Specific Total Cost of Ownership for Electric Trucks: A Danish Distribution Case Study Iversen L, Rehmeier C · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2026 · Journal article DOI
  5. Optimizing Charging Control for Fast and Efficient Electric Vehicle Charging Han L, Liu H, Zhang Y, et al. · Journal of Autonomous Vehicles and Systems · 2025 · Journal article DOI
  6. Research on Battery Electric Vehicles’ DC Fast Charging Noise Emissions: Proposals to Reduce Environmental Noise Caused by Fast Charging Stations Clar-Garcia D, Campello-Vicente H, Fabra-Rodriguez M, et al. · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2025 · Journal article DOI
  7. An Optimal Multi-Zone Fast-Charging System Architecture for MW-Scale EV Charging Sites Althurthi S, Rajashekara K · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2025 · Journal article DOI
  8. Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe Ghotge R, van Rooij D, van Breukelen S · World Electric Vehicle Journal · 2025 · Journal article DOI
  9. Techno-Economic Comparison of Total Cost Ownership of Electric and Combustion Light Commercial Vehicles Taborda-Ospina L, Ortiz-Castrillón R, Jaramillo-Duque Á, et al. · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · 2024 · Journal article DOI
  10. Cost-Optimal Aggregated Electric Vehicle Flexibility for Demand Response Market Participation by Workplace Electric Vehicle Charging Aggregators Chen Y, Zeng W, Khurram A, et al. · Energies · 2024 · Journal article DOI