Cars registered at the end of 2006 are now approaching their MOT and that’s a good time to look at their depreciation over the 3 year period.
Best performers
• Reflecting the world’s ever greener conscience, the Lexus 400h (Hybrid engine) comes out as the best performer, losing an average of 8.3% p.a.
• Close behind that are Land Rover’s Range Rover on 9.7% average loss p.a.
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Make
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Average annual loss %
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Retained value after 3 years (e.g. spec)
|
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Lexus RX 400h
|
8.3
|
£28,589 (SE)
|
|
Range Rover
|
9.7
|
£33,006 (3.6 TD HSE)
|
|
BMW X5
|
10.0
|
£25,996 (3.0 D)
|
|
Hyundai Sante Fe
|
10.4
|
£12,960 (2.2 CDX)
|
|
Nissan Pathfinder
|
11
|
£12,670 (2.5 DCI)
|
Worst performers

• Mitsubishi Shogun suffers around double the depreciation of the Lexus, at an average of 16.5% p.a.
• Jeep Cherokee suffers 16.3% depreciation p.a. on average
|
Make
|
Average annual loss
|
Retained value
|
|
Mitsubishi Shogun
|
16.5
|
£12,251 (3.2 Di-d)
|
|
Mercedes M-Class
|
16.3
|
£21,954 (280 CDI)
|
|
Jeep Cherokee
|
16.3
|
£14,894 (3.0 CRD)
|
|
Kia Sorento
|
13.2
|
£11,150 (2.5 CRDI)
|
|
Volkswagen Touareg
|
18.5
|
£17,403 (2.5 TDI)
|
The next edition of Used Car Expert magazine has a special section profiling the depreciation patterns of the major 4x4s, plus extra 4x4 reviews and news. Used Car Expert magazine is on sale from the last Thursday of the month in WH Smith, Tesco and all good news agents.
Matthew Tumbridge, editor of Used Car Expert magazine and website commented, “Depreciation is the biggest cost to motorists, but it’s so easy to avoid being stung if you plan ahead using our price guide. In the current economic market, it can make owning a car a lot less stressful.”
“If you want to save even more, you can study the year by year figures that we publish in the magazine each month, and you can then beat these figures by, for example buying 6 month old cars and selling after 12-18 months.”