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Value Rating
Above 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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Review From Motor Trend Magazine
Comparison: 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid vs 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line vs 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid
|   | 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid | 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line | 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid | | POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS | | Drivetrain layout | Front engine, FWD | Front engine, FWD | Front engine, FWD | | Engine type | I-4, alum block/head plus AC elec motor | I-4, alum block/alum head plus AC elec motor | Atkinson-cycle I-4, alum block/head plus AC elec motor | | Valvetrain | DOHC, 4 valves/cyl | DOHC, 4 valves/cyl | DOHC, 4 valves/cyl | | Displacement | 151.9 cu in/2488 cc | 145.5 cu in/2384 cc | 144.1 cu in/2362 cc | | Compression ratio | 9.6:1 | 10.4:1 | 12.5:1 | | Power (SAE net) | 158 hp (gas)/40 hp (elec)/198 hp (comb) | 164 hp (gas)/5 hp (elec)/164 (comb) | 147 hp (gas)/40 hp (elec)/187 hp (comb) | | Torque (SAE net) | 162 lb-ft (gas)/199 lb-ft (elec) | 159 lb-ft (gas)/111 lb-ft (elec) | 138 lb-ft (gas)/199 lb-ft (elec) | | Transmission | Continuously variable auto | 4-speed automatic | Continuously variable auto | | Suspension, front; rear | Struts, coil springs, anti-roll; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar | Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar | Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar, struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar | | Steering ratio | 16.1:1 | 16.2:1 | 15.6:1 | | Turns lock-to-lock | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.1 | | Brakes, f/r | 11.7-in vented disc & regen; 11.5-in disc, ABS | 11.7-in vented disc & regen; 10.6-in disc, ABS | 11.7-in vented disc & regen; 11.1-in disc, ABS | | Wheels | 7.0 x 16 in, cast aluminum | 6.5 x 16 in, cast alum | 6.5 x 16 in, cast aluminum | | Tires | P215/60R16 94T M+S Continental ContiProContact | P215/60R16 94S M+S Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring SR | P215/60R16 94V M+S Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 | | DIMENSIONS | | Wheelbase | 109.3 in | 112.3 in | 109.3 in | | Track, f/r | 60.7/60.4 in | 59.9/60.3 in | 62.0/61.6 in | | Length x width x height | 189.8 x 69.6 x 58.1 in | 190.0 x 70.3 x 57.6 in | 189.2 x 71.7 x 57.5 in | | Turning circle | 37.4 ft | 40.4 ft | 36.1 ft | | Curb weight | 3540 lb | 3480 lb | 3589 lb | | Weight dist, f/r | 58/42% | 60/40% | 58/42% | | Seating capacity | 5 | 5 | 5 | | Headroom, f/r | 40.6/36.8 in | 39.4/37.4 in | 38.8/37.8 in | | Legroom, f/r | 44.1/35.8 in | 42.2/37.6 in | 41.6/38.3 in | | Shoulder room, f/r | 55.7/55.5 in | 55.9/54.0 in | 57.8/56.7 in | | Cargo volume | 9.1 cu ft | 13.1 cu ft | 10.6 cu ft | | TEST DATA | | Acceleration to mph | | 0-30 | 2.7 sec | 3.8 sec | 2.8 sec | | 0-40 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 4.2 | | 0-50 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 5.7 | | 0-60 | 7.1 | 10.5 | 7.7 | | 0-70 | 9.1 | 13.5 | 10 | | 0-80 | 11.6 | 17.3 | 12.9 | | 0-90 | 14.5 | na | 16.3 | | Passing 45-65 mph | 3.4 sec | 5.5 sec | 3.9 sec | | Quarter mile | 15.4 sec @ 92.3 mph | 17.7 sec @ 81.4 mph | 15.9 sec @ 89.1 mph | | Braking, 60-0 mph | 132 ft | 140 ft | 134 ft | | Lateral acceleration | 0.77 g (avg) | 0.75 g (avg) | 0.76 g (avg) | | MT figure eight | 28.6 sec @ 0.57 g (avg) | 30.1 sec @ 0.50 g (avg) | 29.1 sec @ 0.56 g (avg) | | CONSUMER INFO | | Base Price | $25,615 | $22,695 | $26,860 | | Price As Tested | $31,145 | $23,070 | $28,289 | | Stability/traction control | Yes/yes | Yes/yes | Yes/yes | | Airbags | Dual front, front side, f/r curtain | Dual front, front side, f/r curtain | Dual front, front side, f/r curtain | | Basic warranty | 3 yrs/36,000 miles | 3 yrs/36,000 miles | 3 yrs/36,000 miles | | Powertrain warranty | 5 yrs/60,000 miles | 5 yrs/100,000 miles | 5 yrs/60,000 miles | | Battery Warranty | 10 yrs/150,000 miles | 8 yrs/100,000 miles | 10 yrs/150,000 miles | | Fuel capacity | 20.0 gal | 16.3 gal | 17.2 gal | | EPA city/hwy econ | 35/33 mpg (est) | 24/32 mpg | 33/34 mpg | | CO2 emissions | 0.57 lb/mile (est) | 0.72 lb/mile | 0.58 lb/mile | | MT observed fuel econ | 37.1 mpg | 33.7 mpg | 38.5 mpg | | Recommended fuel | Regular unleaded | Regular unleaded | Regular unleaded |
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Jorge Alicea is the Purchasing Coordinator for Direct Line, Distributors for Fifth Gear, a hot tuning shop in Florida. His job offers him the opportunity to look carefully over the aftermarket auto pa...
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