These vehicles are best in their class when it comes to price and low long-term costs

"It was great," says Wurster, who leads product development and industry analysis for the auto consulting firm Vincentric, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "I think in the short term it's going to go down more, in fact. But this is the short term. Don't get comfortable. We're going to see $3 again."

It's the unease of impending high gas prices and the shaky economy that necessitates consumers arming themselves with as much information as they can before heading out to buy a new car, experts say. And the research can pay off, since the true costs of owning a car are realized only after you drive off the lot, not when you hand over a cashier's check for the car itself.

Take, for example, the $22,990 Volkswagen GTI and the $23,565 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Though comparable in price, the two-door GTI's fuel efficiency (21 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway) and low maintenance costs help make it the most affordable compact premium model.
The Wrangler Unlimited SUV, however, fares worse when it comes to affordability over five years. Its lower gas mileage (15 mpg in the city, 20 mpg on the highway) and the higher cost of insuring a mid-size SUV make it more expensive to drive than a smaller car of comparable sticker price.

Dan Jarvis, a Ford spokesman, says more drivers, especially young ones, are making the "very wise" decision to do this kind of research online before talking to a dealer.
"They are looking at the overall cost over the life of the vehicle," he says. "And the millennials, as we call them, are also doing the research for their mothers and fathers. So they know about insurance costs and maintenance and fuel costs. They're looking for that value."

Behind The Numbers
To identify 2009's most affordable vehicle in each major market segment, we used Vincentric data to add to the base price the five-year totals for fuel costs, maintenance and repairs, as well as the average national insurance rates in each segment. To find the gas expense, we assumed an annual rate of 15,000 miles driven per vehicle at a price of $3.25 per gallon (the 2008 year-to-date average). We then evaluated affordability based on the percentage of each vehicle's five-year costs compared with its grand total costs, including base price.

Experts say the key to choosing a truly affordable vehicle is to know what your needs are--and stick to them. Nowhere is this more important than when considering buying an SUV. The Kia Sportage, for example, is the most affordable SUV overall on our list. The base model costs only $16,695, but still offers luxury-associated amenities such as keyless entry, alloy wheels and full power accessories. But it leaves out the heft, which helps keep its gas costs low, getting a combined 22 mpg.