A new report has emphasised that depreciation should be at the centre of any private car buyer's purchase decision. The Alliance & Leicester's annual car depreciation report cites an average new car depreciation of 22 per cent in the first year and 45.1 per cent after three years.

But there is considerable variation within segments, the report emphasises. In the family car category, vehicles retained only 62.8 per cent of their value after one year and 39.8 per cent after three years. But in the compact executive segment cars, on average, retain 82.7 per cent of their value after one year and 59.9 per cent after three years.

Overall, city cars were the category that retained most of their value - 62.3 per cent - over three years. MPVs (61.0 per cent) and compact executive (59.9 per cent) closely followed them.

A full copy of the report, produced in conjunction with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, can be downloaded from Alliance & Leicester's motoring advice site, www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/cars.