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Value Rating
Below Average
IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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Article From Automobile Magazine
Things move fast in today's SUV land. Except, that is, for Suzuki and the Grand Vitara. After seven long years in production, Suzuki at last has a new version, and we've been driving it. Well, actually, we've been driving the Escudo (above) that's already out in Japan, but the U.S.-spec model that launches this fall will be virtually the same. Contrary to previous reports, it will continue to be called the Grand Vitara, as executives in Japan nixed the planned XV6 nameplate. As previewed by the X2 concept, the Escudo/Grand Vitara has a bigger body (by almost a foot) that's also a lot better-looking, both inside and out. The new instrument panel, themed in silver and black, is also an improvement. The well-equipped cabin has six standard air bags. Serious changes also were made underneath the vehicle, where the Grand Vitara switches from body-on-frame to unibody construction and uses a fully independent suspension and wider front and rear tracks. Stability control and ABS are standard. On the road, the new coil-spring, multilink rear suspension feels impressively tied down. It's the strut-supported front suspension that you can feel working busily away, which, together with the heavier steering, gives the Suzuki a more workmanlike feel than most car-based SUVs. That's the price you pay for the Grand Vitara's unusually rugged four-wheel-drive layout, which includes a locking center differential and a low-range transfer case (the latter now is operated via a dash dial). The serious four-wheel-drive gear gives this little sport-ute genuine rock-crawling, mogul-traversing ability. For all that, when it's on-road, the Escudo/Grand Vitara corners neatly enough, and it's far more comfortable than the current generation. Suzuki slipped in the bigger 2.7-liter V-6 from the XL-7. Generating 185 hp, it's efficient and torquey enough and links to a new five-speed automatic. The Suzuki doesn't feel so fast off the line considering its nearly 3.0 liters of displacement, but it cruises easily and raises the bar on the existing Grand Vitara.
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