There’s a world of difference between the best performing and the worst performing cars in the world when it comes to maintenance costs. If you buy a BMW, you’ll spend an average of $17,800 over the course of the car’s life on maintenance and upgrades. If you buy a small Toyota, on the other hand, you’ll pay just $5,500. That’s a big difference. Statistics like this get you thinking. It shows how much more there is to consider when it comes to the costs of running a car than just the list price. And it motivates you to find out which cars won’t ever let you down, and which will end up getting taken away by a tow truck. Fiat 500 en.wikipedia.org The Fiat 500 is widely regarded as being rather ho-hum. The bottom of the range car comes with a 68 bhp (51 kW) 1.2 liter naturally aspirated engine. It’ll do 0 to 62 in a paltry 12.9 seconds. But the car’s slowness might also be its greatest strength. Fiat never used to be the most reliable brand. But the Fiat 500 has gained a reputation for half-decent reliability, especially in the city-car space. Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S features a 60-100 kWh battery, depending on the model you go for. And it’ll put out between 245 and 515 kWh. The P100D version of the car was recently touted as the second fastest production car in existence. But that’s arguably not the most exciting thing about the Tesla Model S. The most exciting thing is the fact that the car requires practically no maintenance. In fact, Tesla offers a lifetime warranty on the car, which is unheard of for petrol-engined vehicles. en.wikipedia.org So what’s going on here? Essentially, it all comes down to the electric drivetrain. Tesla has managed to make a car that relies on less than twenty moving parts. That’s nearly two orders of magnitude fewer moving parts than in your average combustion engine car. Hence, there;s a lot less wear and tear, and far fewer trips to the mechanic. Lexus IS Mk3 en.wikipedia.org According to the Driver Power Survey, the Lexus IS is one of the most reliable cars in the world. The car comes with a number of engine options, including a hybrid version. Petrol engines start with the 200t. They then rise to the 300h. This engine will produce more than 220 bhp or around 164 kW. The car’s acceleration is quite sluggish, despite the overall power of the engine. And it doesn’t come with a diesel option or manual gearbox. Despite this, it’s one of the best cars out there for reliability. Compared to its rivals, like the SEAT Leon and Skoda Yeti, it performs far better over time. The car is regularly praised by owners for its build quality and in-car tech. It should come as no surprise that the Lexus IS makes it onto this shortlist. According to Priceonomics, Toyota models dominate charts of the cheapest cars to run. The Corolla, Prius, and Camry are all very competitive on the longevity front.