Top Five Crossover Vehicles with Respectable Resale Values

The first thing to decide regarding the crossover debate is to know exactly what defines a crossover vehicle. To many people it is simply a highly stylized SUV, others feel that it is any vehicle which is unique enough to warrant its own classification as in Crossover.

There are technical folks at the automotive companies who give one basis in fact, and that is the vehicle is built on a "unibody" car like chassis.

These cars are not usually meant for off road use, and they have a distinctly lower roof line that your standard SUV. Many are in wagon packaging, and others are more like an SUV. They also typically get better fuel economy compared to their SUV cousins.

The crossover market is evolving rather rapidly and there is still a bit of a tussle going on between the manufacturing companies who sell crossover vehicles as to what the "standard" might end up being.

To many consumers the true crossover vehicle offers things that a straight up SUV does not. Typically an SUV would be robust and bulky with all wheel drive or maybe four wheel drive, plus the SUV badge conjures up an image of a large engine that guzzles gas prolifically. On the other hand the term Crossover sounds a bit sporty when compared to a typical SUV and the term crossover also sounds more efficient.

So here are my five selections for the top five crossover vehicles that are expected to hold their resale value over the next 3 to 5 years.

1) Mazda CX7
The entire Mazda line is really well built and the CX7 is nicely appointed. For around $20,665 you can drive off the lot with one of these beautiful little Crossover vehicles. This model has a 2.5 Liter four cylinder engine that yields 161 horsepower, and this delivers excellent fuel economy at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. The Mazda nameplate implies reliability and also equals sporty in my book. This is a really well built car that should hold its resale value well into the next three four or five years! This model is new for 2010 so historical resale data is not really available yet, however some Mazda models have typically held at least a 40% resale after five years, so I feel this one is a really good bet for holding great resale value.

2) Mitsubishi Outlander
This crossover is definitely the size and style of crossover car that makes the owner very happy every time they start the ultra quiet engine. The motor in these cars is fairly potent so it tends to be really fast on the highway, but the fuel economy does not suffer. You get a 168 horsepower 2.4 Liter four cylinder engine which is a little higher than some others in this class, but the mileage is impressive at 21 mpg city and 25 highway. For around $20,840 you almost cannot go wrong! The resale on this model seems to be around $6,800 average for a five year old model, and about $14,500 for three years old.

3) Nissan Rogue
The Rogue offers a nice cabin with well thought out amenities. The ride in this car is really smooth! Packing a lot of punch this model has a 2.5 Liter four cylinder engine that kicks out a respectable 170 horsepower. Even though this is the second highest horsepower engine in this list, it yields the best overall mileage at 22 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. It amazes me much how more efficient these new four cylinder engines can be. This is a fairly new model for Nissan so any guess on the resale value would be mostly speculation at this point. However if you consider the resale value for similar vehicles from Nissan then you will realize how well these Rogues will hold their value over time. For approximately $20,460 you will be cruising in style and class. A reasonable guess would be that this model could yield 55% resale after 3 years, and possibly 43% after five.

4) Suzuki Grand Vitara
This Suzuki is a robust little package that is a star performer for every soccer mom who is currently driving on of these Crossover cars. you can expect to get around 19 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway with an adequately powered engine. This potent little 2.4 Liter four cylinder engine developing 166 horsepower. For the very low price of the base model package you can get this car off the dealers lot for about $19,099. This model only came out in 2009 but these year old models are selling used for around $14,500 to $16,800 here in Northeast Ohio.

5) Toyota Rav4
Historically these Rav4 cars are extremely reliable and they hold their resale value right to the nickel. Their reliability is legendary, and even with a few recalls here and there the Toyota brand is very much alive and kicking! For around $21,925 you can drive a 2010 Rav4, and the resale could easily be expected to be in the 52% to 58% range. This model offers the most horsepower in this class of five cars at 179 horsepower, which is not bad for a 2.5 Liter four cylinder engine! The fuel mileage is great as well with 21 mpg city and 27 on the highway. My friend Lori just bought her second Rav4 and her 2000 model looks like it is less than five years old. She was offered $5,500 for it as trade in and it is ten years old, granted she takes really good care of her things especially her vehicles. So in my personal experience the resale value on these tends to stay strong even past five years.

My thinking is that no matter which Crossover you choose the good mileage and nice styling will yield a decent resale value on any of the five models listed here. We can also expect more new models in this class as time goes on.

Vehicle specs were found on the manufacturers websites.

www.Mazdausa.com

www.MitsubishiCars.com

www.nissanusa.com

www.suzukiauto.com

www.toyota.com

Resale prices listed are from local dealer sales and car ads in local newspapers here in Northeast Ohio.

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