The least-expensive cars to drive

The most fuel-efficient and more affordable cars aren't necessarily the cheapest to own. Finding a spot on the list is the $43,175 Cadillac DTS luxury sedan. The cost of fueling this car is the highest of any on the list, helping boost the five-year cost of ownership to $69,663. However, the car's depreciation rate is among the lowest on the list, at 38 percent, and insurance is only 10 percent of the total cost — far less, percentage-wise, than that of the Yaris or the Prius.

Why such high insurance costs for the cheaper cars? Smaller cars usually have higher auto insurance rates than larger vehicles because they tend to have higher rates of injury and collision claims, says Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Small cars are less safe than bigger vehicles, so people are more likely to be injured in them when they crash, and small cars also tend to get into more crashes to begin with, so they have more insurance claims for repair."

Also noteworthy on the list, then, is the Jeep Patriot, which has a long-term cost of ownership similar to that of the Toyota Prius. Along with a base MSRP about $4,000 lower than that of the Prius, the Patriot is among the more fuel-efficient SUVs on the road, getting a combined EPA of 24 mpg (thus reducing the fuel costs), and has one of the lowest maintenance and repair costs of any vehicle on the list. The insurance costs are also among the lowest on the list.

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Where the Jeep isn't so hot is on depreciation, but the same could be said for any car on the list. Paying close attention to depreciation, in fact, is critical since a whopping 60 percent of the cost of ownership occurs in the first year, and most of that will be depreciation. Depreciation is also the largest annual ownership cost for vehicles up to six years old, according to Consumer Reports.

But because so many other factors are at play as well, car buyers are best served thinking about their individual needs first and foremost. There's no point in buying a cheap-to-drive small car if it doesn't fit everyone in your family, for example. After thinking about the class of car that's right for you, then start doing your homework.

"People are finally starting to understand how these costs work," says David Wurster, president of Vincentric. "As the economy gets a little tighter, consumers are becoming smarter at looking at the total cost of ownership."

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