Fuel cost is the biggest expense these days, by a big margin. At economy low altitude cruise (3000ft, 138kt IAS) I burn 11.2 USG/hr (42.3 litres/hr). At economy high altitude cruise (FL100, 140kt TAS) I burn 9.6 USG/hr (36.3 litres/hr).
Even the lower of the two above dwarfs the cost of servicing, the engine fund, etc. But that would not be the case if I flew an old wreck with a similar capability and performance, when £10000 Annuals are quite common.
The cost of depreciation is likely to be bigger still, but (together with cost of capital) the way this is accounted for, or indeed whether a private individual doing this for enjoyment should be accounting for these, varies greatly.
No doubt, nothing will beat a
cheap little plane which uses little fuel 
But none of those types have much capability. They are OK for bimbling around on nice days, not going far. If you want to do more, you have various tradeoffs open to you, but it will cost you more.