Those that are able to take major tax deductions for their travel due to work, maybe it makes sense. But you are responsible for repairs and things like tires, etc. while the lease payments are lower, the balloon payment to own it when your lease ends are bigger. We drive our cars until they have at least 200,000 miles on them, so lease makes absolutely no sense. If you are worried about cost and repair costs, a better deal may be purchasing from a dealer a SUV that is 2-3 yrs old, so that all that significant depreciation has already happened, and ask about warranty with dealer.