The Volkswagen Tiguan has retained the highest value over three years according to Glass’s residual value top 10.

The Mini 1.6 Cooper came in second place and Honda’s CR-V 2.2 CTDi SE came third.

Glass’s has excluded automotive exotica and cars sold in very small numbers from the list, which expresses the residual values as a percentage of original list price for vehicles on a ‘57’ plate with average mileage of 37,000 miles.
The list shows the best performing derivative for each model, with average annual depreciation based against the new list price.

The top 10 cars with the best residual values are:

1. Volkswagen Tiguan (168bhp) SE 4Motion 5d – 68.0% - £2,394 average annual depreciation

2. Mini 1.6 Cooper 3d – 65.9% - £1,462 average annual depreciation

3. Honda CR-V 2.2 CTDi (138bhp) SE 5d – 64.3% - £2,356 average annual depreciation

4. = Land Rover Freelander 2 GS Td4 auto – 63.8% - £2,965 average annual depreciation

4. = Audi Q7 3.0TDI (237bhp) Quattro S Line Tip – 63.8% - £4,962 average annual depreciation

6. Land Rover Discovery 3 2.7TD (190bhp) – 63.7% - £3,720 average annual depreciation

7. Audi TT Coupe 2.0T FSI (197bhp) – 63.6% - £3,123 average annual depreciation

8. Nissan Qashqai 1.6 (113bhp) 2WD Visia – 63.3% - £1,628 average annual depreciation

9. Land Rover Range Rover 2.7TD Sport (187bhp) S Auto – 62.5% - £4,425 average annual depreciation

10. Audi A5 2.7TDI (187bhp) Sport Coupe Multitronic – 62.2% - £4,123 average annual depreciation

Adrian Rushmore, Glass’s Managing Editor, said: “The VW Tiguan is blessed with all the right ingredients to give it great residual values. Apart from having the cachet of the VW badge, it has never been marketed hard as a new car and there have been prolonged periods of very limited availability.

“The Mini still does incredibly well. Having topped the table in 2008 and then slipped to fifth place last year, the first of the new generation models are now three years old, boosting its ranking.”
Seven of the top 10 places are occupied by 4x4s or SUVs.

Rushmore said: “Despite external factors such as fuel price rises that may have worked against these vehicles, they have performed remarkably in the used market.

“Superminis are notably absent from the top 10 list this year due to the scrappage scheme coming to an end. As demand for these exceeded supply, many buyers simply opted for a used model instead, which temporarily inflated residual values.”

The average trade value for a car in Glass’s top 10 is £16,500. This would put the retail selling price close to £18,500.

Rushmore said: “Clearly, these customers have a healthy amount of disposable income at a time of relative economic uncertainty and when purse strings are being drawn more tightly.

“So while the nation is in the grip of austerity measures and cost-cutting, it seems that used car buyers are opting to pay the highest prices – relative to original list price – for cars that reflect their chosen lifestyle and image, rather than those that that reflect a desire for lower running costs or outright practicality.”