This is the question almost everyone is really asking. A car loan is simple and you own the car outright. A novated lease is more complex but comes with tax and GST savings. Which one leaves you better off depends on a few things you can actually pin down, so here is the straight version.
They both end the same way
A fair comparison has to end at the same place: you, owning the same car, free and clear. With a car loan you pay it off and it is yours. With a novated lease you pay the residual at the end and it is yours. So the real question is which path costs you less in total out-of-pocket dollars to get there.
Comparing a weekly lease payment to a weekly loan payment is not the comparison, because the lease payment includes running costs and the loan payment does not.
What the lease has going for it
Two things a loan can never give you. The leasing company claims the GST back on the car and on the running costs, and the payments come out of your pre-tax salary, which lowers your income tax. On an eligible electric vehicle under the luxury car tax threshold, the FBT exemption means the whole lot is pre-tax, which is a very large lever.
What the loan has going for it
A good car loan can have a genuinely low effective rate with no broker margin or management fees baked in. If a lease quote comes back at 15% or more effective, a 7 to 9% car loan can close most of the gap, and on a cheaper petrol car it can win outright once the lease fees are counted honestly.
You also keep it simple: no FBT, no residual, no employer involvement.
How to actually decide
Do not eyeball it. Work out the lease on its real effective rate, add the residual, and compare the total net cost against the same car on a loan and on cash. On an EV the lease usually wins comfortably. On a petrol car it is closer and the finance rate decides it. Our lease vs buy vs loan tool does this side by side so you can see the dollars, not just the sales pitch.