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Start with a like-for-like ownership scenario
Choose the ownership period, annual mileage, location, purchase condition and financing method before entering any vehicle data. A five-year comparison at 15,000 miles per year is a useful starting point, but it is only a standardized scenario. Change it if you expect to drive 8,000 miles, keep the SUV for eight years or buy used.
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Edmunds’ True Cost to Own (TCO) calculator uses five years, 15,000 miles per year, 10% down and a 60-month traditional loan. Edmunds says the result is comparative rather than predictive: Note that TCO is a comparative tool, not a predictive tool.
Read its methodology at Edmunds’ TCO methodology and its explanation at the Edmunds Help Center.
Use the same assumptions for every SUV. Do not finance one vehicle and treat another as a cash purchase, or give one vehicle a four-year horizon and another a five-year horizon, unless you are deliberately modeling those different decisions.
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Write down the assumptions
- Purchase date and whether each SUV is new or used.
- Actual negotiated price, including options and destination charges, rather than MSRP alone.
- Ownership horizon in years and expected miles per year.
- Buyer’s state, ZIP code and local tax and registration rules.
- Loan amount, APR, term, down payment and fees—or an explicit opportunity-cost rate for cash.
- Fuel grade, electricity price and the expected city/highway driving mix.
- Driver, garaging address, coverage limits, deductibles and insurance period.
The total-cost formula
For each candidate, calculate:
Total ownership cost = net depreciation + financing or capital cost + taxes and fees + insurance + fuel or electricity + scheduled maintenance + repairs and tires − eligible credits.
Divide the total by the number of ownership years for annual cost. Divide it by total miles for cost per mile. Keep the category subtotals visible; two SUVs with the same total may expose very different risks.
Build a comparison worksheet
Create one column for each SUV and one row for each item below. Enter the same horizon and mileage across all columns.
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| Category | What to enter | How to calculate or verify it |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | Signed transaction price, options, destination and dealer fees | Use the buyer’s written quote; do not substitute MSRP. |
| End-of-period value | Expected private-party or trade-in value at the chosen date | Use model-year-specific estimates and test low, middle and high values. |
| Depreciation | Purchase price minus end value | Calculate separately from financing; it is the value consumed, not a monthly payment. |
| Finance or capital cost | Loan interest and loan fees, or a stated cash opportunity cost | Apply the same financing convention to every candidate. |
| Taxes and fees | Sales/use tax, title, registration and recurring local charges | Use the buyer’s jurisdiction and transaction price. |
| Insurance | Quoted premium for the intended driver and vehicle | Request matching limits, deductibles, address and coverage period. |
| Fuel or electricity | Energy used during the horizon | Use the exact engine, trim, fuel grade, miles and local prices. |
| Scheduled maintenance | Required services, fluids and inspections | Follow the model-year owner’s schedule and subtract only service actually included. |
| Repairs and tires | Out-of-warranty repairs, wear items and tire replacement | Separate warranty-covered work from owner-paid exposure. |
| Credits | Incentives or tax credits for which this buyer and vehicle qualify | Verify eligibility and rules at the purchase date. |
| Total, annual and per mile | Sum and normalize the result | Divide by years and by total miles; keep all assumptions attached. |
Measure depreciation correctly
Depreciation is usually the largest ownership cost for a new luxury SUV. It is the purchase price less the vehicle’s value at the end of your holding period. Include factory options that affect the transaction price, and use the same end date and mileage for every candidate.
Resale is uncertain. A model with a higher purchase price can still cost less if it retains more value, while an apparently inexpensive SUV can become costly after a steep first-owner drop. Run at least three resale cases—low, central and high—when the ranking could change. State whether the value is an expected trade-in, private-party sale or another basis; those outcomes are not interchangeable.
For a used SUV, start depreciation at your purchase price and estimate its value at your planned exit date. Do not mix a new-vehicle first-owner estimate with a used-vehicle comparison without adjusting the holding period and mileage.
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Include financing or the cost of cash
Interest is a real ownership expense even though it does not reduce the SUV’s resale value. Enter the actual APR, term, down payment, origination fees and any required products from the loan offer. Calculate total interest over the period you expect to keep the vehicle, not merely the first year.
If you pay cash, choose a transparent opportunity-cost assumption—such as the return you could reasonably earn on the money—and apply it to every cash-purchase candidate. Alternatively, show a cash scenario separately. Never compare a financed SUV with a cash-priced SUV and call the difference a vehicle advantage.
A longer loan can lower the monthly payment while increasing interest and leaving a balance when you want to sell. Show the remaining loan balance at the planned sale date if you are evaluating financial flexibility; the balance is not an additional TCO category, but it affects the cash needed to exit.
Calculate taxes, registration and fees for the buyer’s location
Sales or use tax, title, registration and local charges vary by state, county and city. Apply tax to the taxable amount in the actual transaction, accounting for any trade-in rule that applies locally. Registration may recur annually and may depend on vehicle value or weight.
Use the buyer’s address rather than a national average. Record one-time charges separately from recurring charges so a move, renewal date or change in vehicle value does not silently distort the total. Include a qualifying incentive only after confirming the current rule, vehicle eligibility and buyer eligibility.
Get a real insurance comparison
Insurance calculators can illustrate differences, but they are not quotes. Request quotes for each exact year, trim and powertrain using the same driver, address, annual mileage, liability limits, comprehensive and collision limits, deductibles and ownership dates. Keep discounts and bundling treatment consistent.
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Edmunds uses state-average insurance estimates based on defined driver profiles and coverages, and notes that personal circumstances can substantially change the result. A high repair cost, expensive parts, theft exposure, youthful driver or different garaging location can move premiums enough to reverse a close comparison.
Model fuel and electricity from the exact powertrain
Fuel cost depends on EPA ratings, real miles, local prices and fuel grade. Match the engine, drivetrain, wheel and trim configuration—not just the SUV name. Verify whether regular fuel is permitted, premium is recommended or premium is required; use the required grade in the base case when the manufacturer specifies it.
Use this calculation: annual fuel cost = annual miles ÷ realistic miles per gallon × local price per gallon. Apply the same city/highway mix to every candidate unless your driving pattern clearly differs by vehicle. For a plug-in or battery-electric SUV, split miles between home, workplace and public charging when possible, include the applicable electricity rates and account for gasoline used on trips the battery cannot cover.
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Show a high-price and low-price energy case. Fuel savings matter more at high mileage, while a small efficiency advantage may not offset a large depreciation or insurance difference at low mileage.
Price scheduled maintenance, repairs and tires
Scheduled service
Follow the exact model-year maintenance schedule for oil, filters, brake fluid, inspections, coolant and other required work. Price the intervals through your expected mileage and subtract only maintenance that is contractually included for your vehicle and purchase. An advertised service plan that does not apply to your trim or region should not reduce the estimate.
Repairs and warranty coverage
Separate routine service from unscheduled repairs. Identify the basic, powertrain, emissions and battery warranty periods, then estimate owner-paid exposure after coverage ends. Do not assume that every luxury SUV has the same repair bill: use model- and year-specific reliability and repair estimates.
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Consumer Reports identifies depreciation, maintenance, long-term reliability, fuel economy and premium-fuel recommendations as key luxury-car ownership considerations in its luxury-car buying guide. Those are decision factors, not a universal repair-cost rule.
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Large wheels, performance tires, winter use, towing and heavy urban driving can shorten tire life. Add a tire set when the mileage and tread life indicate replacement during your horizon. Include alignment, wipers and other predictable wear items only when they are likely to occur; keep uncertain failures in a sensitivity case rather than presenting them as guaranteed costs.
Use published calculators without mistaking them for predictions
Edmunds provides a consistent comparative framework with its five-year, 15,000-mile, 10%-down, 60-month assumptions. Enter the same trim and equipment for every SUV, then replace generic inputs with your own purchase price, location, insurance quote and energy cost where the tool allows.
Kelley Blue Book’s cost-to-own page reported $80,238 on October 13, 2026 as its average five-year cost across new vehicles for which it could estimate a figure. That is not a luxury-SUV average and is not a forecast for a particular buyer. KBB cautions that vehicle-specific estimates and actual owner costs vary; use the figure only as broad context. See KBB’s total-cost-of-ownership page.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center total-cost study models vehicle, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repair and tax/fee components for 2025 model-year size and powertrain scenarios. Its small-SUV and other segment estimates are not quotes for a named luxury SUV, so use them to understand methodology rather than to assign a luxury-specific cost.
Run sensitivity tests before choosing
A single total can hide fragile assumptions. Recalculate each candidate under conditions that match your uncertainty:
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- Mileage: low, expected and high annual miles.
- Resale: low, central and high end-of-period values.
- Energy: local prices below and above the base case, with the correct fuel grade.
- Insurance: the lowest and highest comparable quotes you receive.
- Holding period: the planned sale date and a later keep-it scenario.
- Repair exposure: warranty-covered base case and a conservative out-of-warranty case.
Then identify the dominant cost category for each SUV. If one model wins only under an optimistic resale value or unusually cheap insurance quote, treat that result as uncertain. If it wins across mileage, energy and resale cases, the decision is more robust.
Interpret the result as a decision, not a single score
Report total dollars, annual dollars and dollars per mile, followed by the category that drives the result. A higher-priced SUV may have a lower modeled total because of stronger resale, lower fuel use or cheaper insurance. Conversely, a low purchase price may be overwhelmed by depreciation, premium fuel, expensive tires or out-of-warranty work.
Keep the comparison limited to equivalent trims and powertrains. A base model with smaller wheels and fewer options is not a fair cost match for a highly equipped competitor. If equipment differs, explain which features caused the price difference instead of treating the vehicles as identical.
Refresh prices, financing offers, local fuel or electricity rates, taxes, insurance quotes and model-year data before buying. These inputs change with time and geography, while the worksheet structure remains reusable.
A practical step-by-step workflow
- List the candidates. Record model year, trim, drivetrain, wheel size and whether each SUV is new or used.
- Set the scenario. Choose one ownership period, annual mileage, location, energy assumptions and financing convention.
- Collect transaction prices. Use written, itemized quotes including options, destination, dealer fees and taxes.
- Estimate exit values. Use the same sale date and mileage, then create low, central and high resale cases.
- Calculate financing or cash cost. Enter APR, term, down payment and fees, or apply one opportunity-cost rate to every cash case.
- Price taxes and registration. Use the buyer’s state and locality and separate one-time from recurring charges.
- Obtain insurance quotes. Keep driver, address, limits, deductibles and coverage dates identical.
- Calculate energy. Match exact EPA configuration, fuel grade, local prices and annual miles; split electricity and gasoline for plug-ins.
- Map maintenance. Follow the model-year schedule and include only applicable prepaid service.
- Add repairs and tires. Distinguish warranty work from owner-paid risk and add tires when mileage makes replacement likely.
- Apply verified credits. Confirm current eligibility for the exact buyer, vehicle and transaction.
- Normalize and stress-test. Compute total, annual and per-mile costs, then rerun mileage, resale, energy, insurance and holding-period cases.
- Choose with transparency. Document the winning category, the assumptions that matter most and the scenario in which another SUV would win.
Common comparison mistakes
- Ranking by MSRP while ignoring transaction price and depreciation.
- Using a national insurance average as though it were the buyer’s premium.
- Applying regular-fuel prices to an SUV that requires premium.
- Comparing a financed vehicle with a cash vehicle without an opportunity-cost assumption.
- Counting included maintenance that does not apply to the exact trim or region.
- Treating a broad new-vehicle average as luxury-SUV data.
- Assuming a luxury badge guarantees either high reliability or high repair bills.
- Leaving tire replacement out of a long, high-mileage ownership period.
- Using a calculator’s default mileage, taxes or insurance without labeling them.
- Adding an incentive before checking its current rules and eligibility.
What a defensible final comparison looks like
Your final worksheet should show every candidate’s purchase price, end value, depreciation, finance or capital cost, taxes and fees, insurance, energy, scheduled maintenance, repairs and tires, credits, total, annual cost and cost per mile. Attach the geography, date, mileage, trim, powertrain, fuel grade, financing terms and insurance assumptions to the figures.
The best choice is the SUV whose cost and uncertainty fit your use—not automatically the one with the lowest sticker price or the lowest calculator total. Treat online TCO figures as a way to expose cost drivers, replace generic inputs with your own quotes, and select the vehicle that remains sensible when the assumptions move.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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