Special Advertising Section - Presidents Day Auto

Cars With the Best

Resale Values
Models from Toyota, Audi, Subaru and
Dodge lead the pack
By Jim Gorzelany

2 THE HARTFORD COURANT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2016

rucks and sport-utility

vehicles are in big demand
these days, both as new
and used vehicles, with the
latter evidenced by how tenaciously
they hold onto their original values.
Nine out of the top 10 vehicles having
the highest resale values after three
years are either pickup trucks or
sport-utility vehicles, according
to the latest data compiled by the
NADA Used Car Guide in Costa Mesa,
Calif.
A truck thats no longer in
production, the Toyota FJ Cruiser
SUV, has held onto a staggering 91.5
percent of its original value.
While cars having top resale values
might not be the best picks for
cash-strapped used-car shoppers,
those looking for a new model should
pay attention to them closely, as
depreciation is typically one of the
biggest long-term ownership costs.
Toyota leads all automakers in
terms of value retention, with six
out of 14 Toyota models returning
the highest resale values in their
respective segments after three
years on the road, including the
Tundra and Tacoma pickups, FJ
Cruiser, Sequoia and 4Runner
SUVs and the Sienna minivan. The
next highest mainstream-brand

finishers, Subaru and Dodge, had

two segment leaders each (Subaru
Impreza and Legacy; Dodge
Challenger and Charger).
As we sorted through the data,
we discovered many clear winners
and losers, says Jonathan Banks,
executive analyst at NADA Used
Car Guide. Some consumers might
think a luxury vehicle is best at
retaining its value after three years,
but our data tells us otherwise.
Audi proved to be the best
at holding onto resale values
among luxury brands, placing
three out of nine models highest
in their segments, including the A3
subcompact, A7 midsize sedan and
the compact Q5 crossover SUV. Five
upscale nameplates followed Audi,
with each recording one first-place
finish.
According to NADA data, the
luxury car having the highest
resale value after three years is the
Volvo XC70 crossover SUV, with a
57.8 percent value retention rate.
By comparison, the mainstreambranded car having the highest
retention rate is the Subaru Impreza
at 65.7 percent. The top non-luxury
truck is the aforementioned Toyota
FJ Cruiser at 91.5 percent, while the
best performing luxury-branded

truck is the Infiniti QX56 full-size

SUV with 61.3 percent of its value
retained after three years. The edge
is narrower among sports cars, with
the non-luxury Dodge Challenger
at 62.3 percent edging out Nissans
GT-R luxury sports coupe at 60.6
percent.
Meanwhile, NADA reports that the
2012 Honda Fit tops all subcompact
cars with 57.5 percent of its original
value retained, with the Subaru
Impreza leading the pack among
compact cars at 65.7 percent, its
showroom sibling the Subaru Legacy
beating its midsize rivals at 58.9
percent and the Dodge Charger
outclassing the full-size segment at
54.1 percent retained value.
The Toyota Tundra finished first
among standard-duty pickups by a

slight margin, with 65.3 percent of

value retained, while the Ram 3500
took top honors among heavy-duty
trucks, holding onto 66.1 percent of
its original cost after three years.
The cars with the worst resale
values in their respective segments
from the 2012 model year are the
subcompact Smart ForTwo (32.5
percent), Lincoln MKZ compact
luxury car (32.4 percent), the since
discontinued Suzuki Kizashi midsize
sedan (33.5 percent), the rentalfleet-favorite full-size Chevrolet
Impala sedan (33.6 percent) and
the also extinct compact Suzuki SX4
(33.7 percent).

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