Prices are high mainly because cars seem to last a lot longer due to lack of rust etc. And also there is no MOT equivalent, the closest thing is the Road Worthy Certificate which you need to get to re-register the vehicle upon change of ownership. But once you have that, you can just drive the car into the ground for the next 10 years if you want!
The Registration, which is effectively your road tax, is quite a lot ( I think about $600 for a year for this Rangie) but includes third party personal injury cover, which is the minimum cover required. But if you hit someone it doesn't cover their vehicle, only themselves.
Fuel at the mo is about $1.30 a litre, so roughly the same figure as UK prices I believe? Except in dollars rather than pounds!