The Best Value for Money Car on the Market—A Pound for Pound Comparison

Did you know that a typical jumbo jet has more than 230 kilometers of wiring running within its cylindrical aluminum fuselage? Those wires and cables stretch about the same distance from Manila to Baguio. More to the point, all that wiring weighs close to two tons—equivalent to the weight of two cars.   

Those wires and cables are needed to connect the aircraft’s myriad electrical systems and electronics, from seat adjustments to airconditioning, from navigation to infotainment, from lighting to refrigeration. 

That’s something to ponder when you push a button on your car’s power seat adjustments, fiddle with the Apple CarPlay on the touchscreen, adjust the climate control, or when your car automatically activates its wipers when it senses rain, pumps the brakes 15 times per second to prevent locking on slippery roads, or reroutes engine torque to the wheels with the most traction when cornering. 

All that activity passes through lots of wires, sensors, and motors. All of which add weight. Of course, the bigger the car, the heavier it gets. Bigger sizes mean more metal for a bigger body, more carpeting and sound insulation, more fabric or leather, more tempered glass for the windows, and of course, commensurately bigger engines, brakes, and a beefier and more heavy-duty suspension. All of which add weight. 

Why this focus on weight? Because we’ll be comparing ten of either the bestselling or the lowest priced vehicles (in their categories) from ten different segments to see which one—pound for literal pound—offers the best value for money. (I also chose the lowest priced variant for each model.)

People always appreciate value for money, but that concept can be very subjective. Which is why I devised a simple mathematical approach to actually compute value for money. 

I simply divided the prices of the ten cars by their respective curb weights. Basically I ask the question: How much does a specific car cost per kilo? We look at the cost per kilo when we buy meats, fruits, rice and many other commodities. Why not apply the same for a car?

Ultimately, this should enable us to arrive at the most objective value for money proposition. Without further ado, here are the results.

Hatchback—Suzuki S-Presso GL

With great value comes great affordability. For a vast majority of consumers, that rings true. And what could be more affordable than the lowest priced car on the market—Suzuki’s diminutive genre-bending S-Presso. Boasting a starting price of a stunningly low P523,000 (for the base GL model), the S-Presso is a surprisingly spacious (thanks to the tall-boy body style) hatchback that provides dependable mobility for many value-oriented new car buyers. 

SRP: P523,000

Curb weight: 750 kg

Cost per kilo: P697.33

Subcompact sedan—Toyota Vios 1.3 Base

Whether people are considering a BMW or a Toyota, they want to get good value. Which is why the country’s bestselling car, the Toyota Vios, is the ultimate embodiment of automotive value. Over 300,000 Vios buyers can’t be wrong. Toyota seems to have perfected the template for the ideal car for the starting family, taxi operators, mobility companies like Grab, among countless other users. Not very often that a brand name (and a specific model in particular) becomes almost synonymous with value.   

SRP: P681,000

Curb weight: 1,045 kg

Cost per kilo: P651.67

Subcompact MPV—Mitsubishi Xpander GLX

The country’s most popular MPV is yet another strong contender for the best value-for-money stakes. The sheer fact that you can fit seven people in a car whose footprint is the same as those of most subcompact sedans already screams high value. That the Xpander has high build quality and is impressively smooth and refined are just the icing on the cake.     

SRP: P1,008,000

Curb weight:  1,220 kg

Cost per kilo: P826.22

Subcompact SUV—Chery Tiggo 2 MT

The Chery Tiggo, launched in the Philippines just a few months before the pandemic started, may not be the bestselling subcompact crossover, but it’s certainly the lowest priced. A 2022 model, the Tiggo 2 Pro, was launched towards the end of 2021, but the 2019 debut model, which has a completely different front end but largely similar sides and rear end, is still in the market. It starts at a delightfully low P695,000 and boasts a surprisingly lengthy list of comfort and convenience features.

SRP: P695,000

Curb weight: 1,215 kg

Cost per kilo: P572.01

Compact Sedan—Honda Civic S Turbo

Before the crossovers arrived, subcompact sedans were the go-to car of people looking for an affordable new ride. And before subcompact sedans like the Toyota Vios, Honda City, and Mitsubishi Mirage, there was the compact sedan. This was the car of choice for pretty much the whole world, which is why the Toyota Corolla was the world’s bestselling car for a quarter century (it’s been around for over 50 years). Which means that it has always been—and probably always will be—a solid buy. In the Philippines, the Civic is currently the most popular compact car. Let’s see how it fares in this pound for pound value for money wars.      

SRP: P1,290,000

Curb weight: 1,304 kg

Cost per kilo: P989.26

Midsize SUV—Isuzu mu-X RZ4E LS 4×2

We can’t have a pound for pound value for money comparo without an entry from one of the most popular and aspirational segments in automobiledom—the SUV. Midsize SUVs are far more expensive than the small, lightweight cars mentioned previously, but they also pack close to two tons of metal, glass, fabric, plastic, and leather in a voluminous body. How it’ll compare with the much cheaper yet much lighter cars in this pound for pound scenario will be very interesting indeed. The Isuzu mu-X is a prime example of this genre. Not only is the current model an all-new one, it also happens to be one of the lowest priced in its category.  

SRP: P1,590,000

Curb weight: 1,820 kg

Cost per kilo: P873.62

Midsize Sedan—Toyota Camry 2.5 HEV

Midsize executive sedans may cost more than double a subcompact car, but they also weigh more than double, which roughly evens them out in the pound for pound stakes. These luxurious sedans pack a lot more comfort, convenience, and safety features, though, so they still make convincing cases for themselves as value-packed purchases. The Toyota Camry has been a perennial top seller in this class. Let’s see how it fares in this class of over-achievers.        

SRP: P2,335,000

Curb weight: 1,490 kg

Cost per kilo: P1,567.11

Pickup—Ford Ranger 2.2 4×2 XLS MT

Here come the literal heavy hitters. Thanks to a government regulation exempting pickup trucks from excise taxes, these gargantuan brutes play with a stacked deck, especially in a price-to-weight cost analysis. The current midsize pickups like the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara, and Isuzu D-Max have grown from their compact pickup origins in the 70s through 90s to become close to the size of the humungous full-size Ford F-150s of the late 90s. The alpha pickup now is the ever-popular Ford Ranger, whose entry-level model retails for shockingly less (by P33,000) than a Hyundai Kona—a car that the Ranger dwarfs by comparison. 

SRP: P1,155,000

Curb weight: 1,866 kg

Cost per kilo: P618.97

Full-size SUV—Ford Expedition V6 Limited EL 4WD

If the Ranger ups the stakes in this pound for pound war by a factor of two, the Ford Expedition does it by a factor of three (or even four). It may cost the same as four Toyota Vioses (even if it doesn’t weigh four times as much), but it would still be an enlightening undertaking to see how it fares in this type of comparison. It literally begs you to do the math to see just how much automobile you get for the money.       

SRP: P4,479,000

Curb weight: 2,555 kg

Cost per kilo: P1,753.03

Family Van—Foton Transvan 

It’s amazing how a family van like a Toyota Hiace or a Nissan Urvan can have the same footprint as a Toyota Camry, but still manage to seat as many as 17 or 18 passengers. But that’s exactly what makes them such great bargains. They may not weight as much as midsize SUVs or pickups, but they also have starting prices as low as P1,168,000 (for the Foton Transvan, the lowest priced family van on the market). That makes it another strong value for money contender. 

SRP: P1,168,000

Curb weight: 2,005 kg

Cost per kilo: P582.54

Here’s how they stand (lowest to highest price-to-weight ratio):

Subcompact SUV	Chery Tiggo 2 MT	P572.01/kg
Family Van	Foton Transvan	P582.54/kg
Pickup	Ford Ranger	P582.54/kg
Subcompact sedan	Toyota Vios  1.3 Base	P651.67/kg
Hatchback	Suzuki S-Presso GL	P697.33/kg
Subcompact MPV	Mitsubishi Xpander GLX	P826.22/kg
Midsize SUV	Isuzu mu-X RZ4E LS 4×2	P873.62/kg
Compact Sedan	Honda Civic S Turbo	P989.26/kg
Midsize Sedan	Toyota Camry 2.5 HEV	P1,567.11/kg
Full-size SUV	Ford Expedition V6 Ltd.	P1,753.03/kg

The takeaway

The numbers speak for themselves. Pound for pound, the cheapest car does not necessarily mean the best value. Ditto the lower and smaller categories. A huge pickup truck costing twice as much can offer a better price-to-weight ratio. Bear in mind, though, that the above results are for a specific variant only. A base 1.3 Vios presents an impressive price-to-weight ratio. But the flagship Vios 1.5 GR Sport weighs only 10 percent more while having a price that’s more than 50 percent higher. Its price to weight ratio would be over P850.00 per kilo. Needless to say, premium upmarket automobiles like the Camry and the Expedition cost considerably more per kilogram. 

And of course, these figures do not reveal if a car is better than its rivals. Still, it’s a useful way to see if a car company is being accurate when they claim that their latest model gives you “more car for the money.” It’s simply a new way to look at various cars’ value propositions.