It completely depends, honestly.
The PP is right, insofar as you won't own the car. So like any form of renting, the money is simply gone.
That said, cars are not fixed assets. You buy one for 10k today, and tomorrow you could sell it for 6, a year from now 4, etc etc.
So you're losing money over time in depreciation.
We've always 'rented' one on PCP, and owned the other, 'cos we're lucky enough to be able to do that.
Anyway, pros and cons!
Pro: New car!
Warranty for the length of the agreement. (Make sure it is!).
A high level of reliability.
No MOTs for the first three years.
Modern bells and whistles, and new cars are generally better for the wallet on fuel (car dependent, obviously).
Cons: Not your car!
If you hand it back at the end of an agreement (we almost always do) then it has to be in 'reasonable' fettle. So expect to be charged for scrapes/scratches/seats with ribena on em/ curbed wheels etc. If you're used to just hefting the garden into the boot then heading down the tip, you will incur costs.
I'd strongly advise 'gap' insurance. If you have an accident that writes of your new, 10k car, and insurance gives you 5k for it (as they're prone to do) the lease company will still expect you to pay any difference, should there be one. GAP insurance is an extra product that insures this, well, gap. You'd not need it if you bought the car outright.
There may be limitations on what you can do with the vehicle on the lease. For example, our current lease cannot be driven in a field. It's in the agreement. So we have to take the other one camping. I also have to let them know if we go abroad. Minor concessions, but!
Last one, promise. You DO still need to put down a deposit. For example an i10 on hyundais website would require a 2.7k deposit. (Though this does seem negotiable).
For my two penneth, if you just want a runaround, a skoda citigo is a cheap reliable car, that can be had for about 5-6k. A bank loan, as the last poster said, would be no sin in this instance!