New scoring criteria

With ever-rising fuel prices, I became curious to think whether in the long run (or at least 10 years) whether it was worth buying a hybrid car or a diesel variant of a particular car compared to the petrol ones (which I've usually been reviewing). Often a hybrid or a diesel is more expensive, but maybe the initial cost would outweigh the long term fuel costs for some of these models?

Consequently I raised the limit to $35,000 for a new car so I could include at least one hybrid, the Honda Insight. This also means I'm able to once again provide ratings for different classes of cars however this time, total cost of ownership (or at least the 10-year cost) is going to be the major deciding factor.

All cars must have a 5 star ANCAP safety rating to get on the list and they will usually involve a trim level above the basic (typically whichever one offers alloys standard - I'm a fan of shiny wheels!).