Slowest depreciating cars: the cars that hold their value best 2023

When you buy a new car, you don't need a calculator to know that depreciation will set in as soon as you drive it off a dealer's forecourt. Even if you're buying a car on finance, depreciation data is vital because the amount of money the car is predicted to be worth at the end of the finance agreement impacts how much you pay per month. 

In simple terms, depreciation is the difference between what a buyer paid for the car and what it’s currently worth, otherwise known as its residual value. Place a new car’s depreciation in a graph, and the line will start at a high point and fall over time. Cars that depreciate slowly will be worth more than fast depreciating cars and will work out cheaper to own overall, so knowing which are the slowest depreciating cars is very useful information for car buyers, and that’s where we come in.

Unless you're buying a highly sought after limited-run performance car, then the new car you buy will probably suffer from depreciation at some level. It's just a fact of life, as a car that has been used by a previous owner isn't as attractive as a brand-new one. There are obviously older classic cars that appreciate in value as they become rare and more desirable over time, but with most modern vehicles the residual value is only going one way. There are cars out there, however, that can limit your losses.

We've listed the best depreciation performers on the market below using the latest depreciation data based on models three-years old with 36,000 miles on the clock. This irons out any initial spikes in desirability as a new car comes to market, and gives a good indication of how much a car will be worth over the lifetime of a typical finance deal. 

The UK’s top 10 slowest depreciating new cars 

1. Land Rover Defender 
2. Porsche Macan 
3. Volkswagen Multivan
4. Volkswagen ID.Buzz 
5. Range Rover Evoque 
6. Porsche Cayenne 
7. Porsche Taycan
8. Lotus Emira 
9. Porsche 911 
10. MG4 EV 

1. Land Rover Defender

11

• Retained value (%): 74.97%
• Average new price: £75,874
• Average retained value (£): £56,710

Land Rover took a long time to bring us a new Defender and the market was certainly ready when the car finally arrived in 2020. Today, it’s the slowest depreciating new car in the UK market thanks to that pent up demand, the iconic Defender name and the manufacturer’s skill in mixing the hardcore off-road attributes of the original with modern luxury SUV sensibilities.

Buy a Defender for £75,000 and it will still be worth £56,710 after three years of use. That fact must also be doing a lot to perpetuate its popularity. It’s the 110 model that delivers the really strong numbers but the shorter Defender 90 still achieves 70.9% retained value after the same period of use, better than any other car in our top ten. 

2. Porsche Macan

11

• Retained value (%): 70.49%
• Average new price: £60,120
• Average retained value (£): £42,362

Unlike some of the more exotic limited edition Porsche products that sell at sizable premiums over list price as soon as they hit the dealers, the Macan is a small SUV that’s not limited in its production. It also costs a relatively affordable £60,000 by Porsche standards, on average. This value proposition, the general popularity of compact SUVs and the engineers’ skill in making a car of this type feel like a true Porsche ensure that the Macan is extremely adept at holding onto its value.

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The version with the strongest residuals is the Macan T, featuring a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine related to the one you’ll find in the Golf GTI, but with chassis tweaks to sharpen its handling. Porsche’s smallest SUV still has room for four adults and a decent-sized boot, making it a particularly easy, yet rewarding car to live with, while with 70% retained value on average it should be more affordable than you think, too.

3. Volkswagen Multivan

11

• Retained value (%): 70.30%
• Average new price: £52,237
• Average retained value (£): £36,500

Volkswagen’s Multivan is, in many ways, the ultimate MPV. Based on the Transporter panel van, it convincingly hides these commercial vehicle roots beneath a classy veneer of premium materials and the latest Volkswagen Group technology. The space and versatility of the seven-seat interior, along with the loose association to the classic VW Type 2 bus help the Multivan keep 70% of its value after three years.  

When new the Multivan is pitched as business class transport for VIP passengers or as a premium MPV option for buyers who can find over £50,000 for a family car. There are few viable alternatives if you want to carry six or seven people and some luggage in something that doesn’t feel like a minibus, and this is probably at the heart of the Multivan’s appeal on the used market. 

4. Volkswagen ID.Buzz

11

• Retained value (%): 70.11%
• Average new price: £59,515
• Average retained value (£): £41,712

If you really want a cool VW MPV, the step beyond the Multivan is the ID.Buzz, the true spiritual successor to the VW Type 2 bus of the 1950s. This retro electric people carrier was extremely hotly anticipated by the market, its arrival teased by a series of concept cars over the years leading up to its 2022 launch from the Microbus in 2001, to the Bulli in 2011 and the Budd-e in 2016.

It’s hardly surprising that a £60,000 ID.Buzz is still going to be worth £40,000 once you’ve used it for three years, particularly when you consider the demand Volkswagen managed to build up for the car. 

5. Range Rover Evoque

11

• Retained value (%): 69.93%

• Average new price: £47,077
• Average retained value (£): £32,912

Backing up the premise that small, upmarket SUVs are ultra-desirable at the moment, we find the British-built Range Rover Evoque in fifth place for low depreciation. It also goes to show the importance of specification for residuals, because the worst performing Evoque trim stands to lose around 10 per cent more than the best in the same period.

The best performers are those in mid range R-Dynamic trim, while the worst are the entry-level S models and those with the fully loaded Autobiography trim. The range as a whole averages just under 70 per cent retained value on an average sale price of £47,000. 

6. Porsche Cayenne

11

• Retained value (%): 69.57%
• Average new price: £86,702
• Average retained value (£): £59,429

Sports car brands without an SUV in their portfolio are becoming increasingly rare to the point that it’s easy to forget the boldness of Porsche’s decision to launch the Cayenne back in 2002 before other manufacturers cottoned on. The original sporting luxury SUV, the Cayenne has spawned a raft of imitators including efforts from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lotus and Lamborghini whose Urus shares a platform with the Porsche, but is still held in the highest regard with rock solid residual values.

The Cayenne range averages 69.5% retained value after three years and there isn’t much to choose between the mainstream six-cylinder models. The plug-in E-Hybrid also performs well but the Coupe bodystyle and the pricey V8 Turbos are less safe bets with a Turbo Coupe worth around 47% of its new price.   

7. Porsche Taycan

11

• Retained value (%): 69.35%
• Average new price: £100,680
• Average retained value (£): £69,817

Still arguably the most desirable fully electric car on sale, and within reach of non-lottery winners, the Porsche Taycan was an incredible first EV from one of the world’s best-loved sports car brands. These days it’s the standard coupe version that’s in slightly higher demand than the Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo estates, but there’s virtually nothing in it.

While the Taycan coupe holds 69% of its value after three years, the Cross Turismo is just under 67% and the Sport Turismo sits on 65.6%. Porsche continues to do no wrong in terms of building cars that people aspire to own.  

8. Lotus Emira

11

• Retained value (%): 67.57%
• Average new price: £77,995
• Average retained value (£): £52,700

Lotus is embarking on a bold new era of electrification but there was still time to replace the iconic Elise and Exige models with one last blast for internal combustion - the Emira. The good news for the folk at the British brand’s Hethel HQ is that the car has been well received by the market, holding on to over 67.5% of its £80k list price.

The Emira is a direct rival for the Porsche Cayman and Alpine A110 which actually occupy 13th and 12th place respectively in this year’s slowest depreciating car table. It points to the fact that general demand for great driver’s cars remains strong and long may that continue. 

9. Porsche 911

11

• Retained value (%): 67.56%
• Average new price: £130,877
• Average retained value (£): £88,042

A veritable institution of the sports car world, the Porsche 911 is also a predictable inclusion on this list. Its wide model range varies substantially in price but even at an average list price of £130,000, the model retains 67.56 per cent of its value over three years. The hardcore GT3 variant is the top performer with 76% retained while the Targa and Carrera 4 all-wheel drive variants are among the least appealing to used buyers. 

10. MG4 EV

11

• Retained value (%): 66.49%
• Average new price: £28,661
• Average retained value (£): £19,050

In case you hadn’t noticed, MG has been reborn as a Chinese-owned budget brand focusing on electric cars. It’s had some success but the MG4 hatchback looks like the car to fire MG to another level in desirability.

From a value for money perspective, the MG 4 is almost unmatched on the market at under £30,000. It’s well built, roomy and offers an electric range of 281 miles in the larger battery versions. The demand for new models has obviously filtered through to bolster predicted future values with a 66% retained value figure making this the best performing car of its size and price point by a long stretch. 

​Car depreciation: the best of the rest

With the top 10 covered off, let’s take a look at some of the models that just missed the cut. The table below shows the top 22 slowest depreciating cars in the UK. If you’re looking for a new car these are currently the safest places to put your cash.

If you had to pick two brands that come out of our latest car depreciation data the best, it would have to be Land Rover and Porsche. Five Land Rover or Range Rover products and a stunning seven Porsches make it into the top 20 as a strong endorsement of the demand for their cars on the used market.

There are some other interesting inclusions on the list with British sports car brand Morgan represented by both its Plus Four and Plus Six models and the BMW iX electric SUV in 21st place. Contributing to the total of 8 of sports cars in the top 22, the Toyota GR86 gets in by virtue of its highly limited supply on the UK market. If you’re lucky enough to have secured one of these highly rated coupes, it should still be worth around 62 per cent of its £31,000 list price after 36,000 fun-packed miles.  

That’s the cars that hold their value best, now what about some depreciation disasters...