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The Centaur class were based on the Colossus class, but were built to full Naval standards. The primary difference was the need for more speed which meant a doubling of installed power from 40,000 shp to 80,000 shp for a fleet speed of 28+knots (compared to the Colossus design speed of 25 knots). Armament was increased to include four twin 4.5 inch mk6 guns (deleted postwar from the completed ships) and displacement was increased to cope with these and other improvements. Originally the Colossus class were not expected to last more than three or four years in service, but this is not to say they were expected to fall apart after that time, it was a reflection of how long they were likley to last before being sunk. In that regard they were considered expendable and that is why they were ordered in numbers. The commercial standard of construction was decided upon primarily so they could be built in shipyards not experienced in warship construction standards, as the main 'warship' yards were fully occupied at the time with full order books. By the time the Centaurs were ordered slots were becoming available in the warship yards, though of the 8 ordered only four were ever started. Postwar the Royal Navy shrunk by up to 90% compared to it's wartime strength initially, though it recovered by the 50s somewhat as the 'Brushfire Wars' started up, and this is why so many of the Light fleets were offered for sale. Those that were retained were viewed as stop gaps until the newer classes were completed, and at least were economical to run compared to Fleet carriers such as the Illustrious class, which is why the latter were kept mostly in home waters on training duties whilst the Light Fleets carried out most of the overseas deployments (roughly speaking three Colossus class could be operated for the cost of two Illustrious class, and could carry more aircraft overall).

To the modern day. Size of the ship/carrier has the least effect on cost at the moment, as it is the Radars, weapons, communications and to a degree propulsion that make the most difference to cost (commercial diesel engines like those fitted to Ocean are not noticeably cheaper to buy, but do require only a fraction of the engineering staff to run them, which is where they make the saving). If we assume a 35,000ton CV as the minimum useful size for a CTOL carrier, one could be bought for less than the cost of a DDG IF it were acquired without long range air search radars, defensive SAM systems, and many other refinements considered essential for a warship to operate independently. This might be acceptable. IF space and weight were included in the design for such systems to be installed at a later date (eg at her first refit, think along the lines of the MEKO modular weapons concept) and the carrier was always deployed with a full escort of DDGs and FFGs. It gets a carrier to sea at least and the period of maximum risk is kept to a few years until the necessary systems can be paid for and installed. Paying for everything all in one go (including the air group) is usually what makes such ships prohibitively expensive. Australia for example could have gone down this route in the late 70s/early 80s when they were lokking for a replacement for the Melbourne, an a ship of this size with two catapults could have oerated the F/A-18, so the RAN FAA could have got it's Skyhawk replacement as party of a larger RAAF order, thus combining logistic and training support for the two services. The argument holds up today, as the hull of any warship is the cheapest part. It's not the size of the ship that makes it expensive, it's what you put in it.

And of course there is Collossus class carrier INS Viraat, ex-HMS Hermes. Currently 49 years in service and expected to remain in service for at least another 3-4 years. Though i suppose you could argue that the ship is 55 years old due to it being launched in 1953 but not commissioned until 1959.

Hermes isn't a Colossus class, she was originally co,pleted as a 'Modified Centaur Class' or 'Hermes Class'. The Centaurs were evolved from the Colossus/Majestic class but altered significantly.