You are basically paying off the depreciation so works out cheaper than buying it outright over the same term. It suits me as I got fed up with 2nd hand cars and wanted something nice I could just get in and drive and then if it broke would go off and get fixed. Yes I am paying a lot of money for that but i can afford it so I am happy. Its similar to renting a property, slightly less than a mortgage, you dont own it but the landlord will fix the leaking tap
Thing is though the market is becoming saturated with 2-3 year old motors and so on new deals future value is getting lower and so the amount you need to pay off over the term is getting higher so its getting very hard to find a good deal thus new car regs are dropping.