Average Running Costs For Australia's Medium & Large Cars

Australia's medium and large car segment is not as big as it once was.

Gone are the days of every family having a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon in the driveway.

The increasing cost of fuel and living means that many families have looked at other segments to provide transport for the family, whether it be a more fuel-efficient smaller car or a diesel-powered SUV.

With Ford, Holden and Toyota closing their local factories, sales of larger cars are a shadow of what they once were.

There are still many quality vehicles in this category though, with contenders from Japan and Europe stepping up to fill the gaps left by the Aussie makes. The Skoda Octavia and Subaru Liberty are two of these vehicles, providing the space of a larger vehicle, with the fuel efficiency of a smaller car.

If you’re in the market for a large car and want to know the lifetime maintenance costs before you purchase, we’ve made the comparison easy. Check out the table below:

*Comparing 2016 models / average retail price

The Holden and the Ford are neck and neck when it comes to running costs.

For years, they’ve battled at showrooms and racetracks around the country, and this time, it’s the Commodore that comes out on top – but only by a nose.

The Commodore costs more to service, but its 3.6-litre engine is more fuel efficient than the larger 4-litre engine in the Ford.

Both lose out to the Subaru and Skoda though, as the smaller engine rivals blitz them in fuel economy.

The Subaru does require servicing more regularly than its rivals, every 6 months or 12,500km – whichever comes first, compared to 15,000km or 9 months for the Holden and Toyota and 12 months for the Skoda and Ford.

All cars in this category see a spike in service cost around 60,000 — 110,000 km. The Toyota Aurion has a service cost of around $750 for every 90,000 km, the Skoda Octavia $650 for every 60,000 km, and the Subaru Liberty $570 for every 112,000 km. The Falcon and the Commodore see a higher-priced service every 90,000 km, at $476 and $530 respectively.