I thought it was time our long-term Touran put its money where its mouth is in a running costs showdown.

So I looked at the running cost figures on this website to see how it compared to its nemesis, the Vauxhall Zafira.

The section is a goldmine when it comes to information like this, as it is stacked with facts and figures about every model currently on sale to UK fleets.

You can filter by manufacturer, model and operating cycle, so I compared the Touran 1.4 TSI SE with the Zafira 1.8 Design.

At first glance, this seems a bit of an unfair contest, but the award-winning engine in the Volkswagen does away with capacity envy. What matters is power and torque.

And in this respect, the Volkswagen blows exhaust fumes in the Zafira’s windscreen.

The Touran offers 140bhp and 162lb-ft of torque from 1,500rpm.

The Zafira matches it on outright power, but in terms of useable torque, it can only muster 129lb-ft at 3,800rpm.

They are neck and neck on mpg and CO2, at 38.2mpg/177g/km for the Vauxhall and 38.2mpg/ 176g/km for the Volkswagen.

But the real hammer blow comes in depreciation.

While the Vauxhall is cheaper at £17,965, compared to £18,230 for the Volkswagen, after three-years/ 60,000-miles the Zafira is worth 27% of its new value on the used market and the Touran is 38%.

Overall, the running cost for the Vauxhall is 37.28 pence per mile and the Volkswagen is 34.65ppm – equal to a £1,578 difference over the three- year/60,000-mile benchmark.

To equalise this difference, a canny fleet manager would need to ensure their discount arrangements were adjusted to reflect this running cost issue.

In terms of the driving experience, engines aside, both are accomplished performers and there would be very little difference in tax terms for drivers.

I have waxed lyrical about the Touran and, thanks to the database on the Fleet News website, I have a detailed idea of the Zafira’s performance.

Looking through the road test archive, you can see their interiors are very closely matched, with the same dark grey approach to design.

An important difference is that the middle seats in the Zafira don’t lift out, while those in the Touran do.

Clearly, personal preferences will win the day, but my trawl through the figures suggest the Touran edges it, particularly in terms of running costs.

If there are any fleets running Zafiras that are mortally offended by this, make your views known on by commenting on this story below, or starting a thread on our forum.