Winchester has been ranked among the top five most expensive cities to own a car in the UK.

It came fourth in the list, with Westminster, London and Brighton ahead of it in first, second and third respectively.

Oxford, Bath and Southampton were also among the top 10 most expensive UK cities to own a car.

This research was conducted by A-Plan Insurance who calculated the average price of petrol, parking, car insurance and an MOT across the nation.

The data was gathered from UK Postcodes, Book My Garage, Just Park and Go Compare with all factors being weighted equally to give each city a score between 0-100, with the highest being the cheapest.

Hampshire Chronicle: The research stated the parking costs were quite high in WinchesterThe research stated the parking costs were quite high in Winchester (Image: PA)

What score did Winchester get?

Winchester got an overall score of 38.4 with petrol costing 149p per litre mainly being the reason behind that.

Parking costs were more reasonable though, with it mainly being £1.60 for an hour stay and sometimes it was free for that time period.

In comparison, the most expensive in Westminster got a score of 21.4, with it coming in at £18 per hour to park and an average insurance cost of £1,643 per year.

The top 10 most expensive cities were as follows:

1. Westminster - 21.4

2. London - 24.4

3. Brighton & Hove - 34.7

4. Winchester - 38.4

5. Chelmsford - 40.4

6. Canterbury - 40.7

7. Cambridge - 41.7

8. Oxford - 42.0

9. Bath - 42.4

10. Southampton - 43.0

A spokesperson at A-Plan Insurance said: “The burgeoning cost of living crisis has caused everyday expenses to rise exponentially, including those associated with owning a car, such as buying petrol. This has affected countless people across the nation, with many cutting back on daily costs to accommodate for this increase.  

“The data shows that most of the cheapest cities to own a car are in the North, while the South may be spending a larger portion of their wages on their vehicles. This offers people a fascinating insight into petrol, insurance, parking and MOT prices, whether they are residents of these cities or are considering visiting this spring and summer.”