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Britain’s ten biggest depreciating cars

  • Forget fuel, insurance or road tax: the biggest obliterator of your cash if you buy a new car is depreciation. All but the rarest and most desirable cars shed a considerable amount of money the year following their registration. Some, though, burn cash at truly frightening rate.

    To round up 2014, here are the cars - according to residuals expert CAP - that lost the biggest percentage of their own value this year.

    Peugeot iOn

    According to Peugeot's own website, this is "the perfect city car - small, silent, economic to run, and 100% electric, so it's kind to the environment. This car definitely comes in peace."

    It declares war on your savings, though. It costs a not insignificant £26,161 new, and after a year of ownership will have retained a piffling 28.8 per cent of that. Or around £7500. Eek.

    Dishonorouble mentions also for its twins from Mitsubishi and Citroen - the i-MiEV and C-Zero - which are a close second and third for ginormous depreciation.

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  • VW Phaeton

    A stalwart of lists like this since its launch, the Phaeton may wrap Bentley-esque luxury in an appealing discreet package, but there's no subtlety about its scant disregard for your wallet.

    And we're not talking about some irrelevantly big-engined petrol version here: if you'd bought a £55k Phaeton diesel a year ago it would now be worth just 39.5 per cent of that, or around £22k.

    If you're feeling particularly schadenfreude, you'll be delighted to know that equates to £91.70 a day. Ouch.

  • Nissan Leaf

    It's not a great vindicator of electric cars. Like the triplets that topped this list, the Leaf loses a fair whack of cash in its first year, retaining a mere 40.3 per cent of its £28,693 price tag.

    Whether it's lack of customer confidence in plug-in cars, question marks over battery leasing or sheer lack of appeal, it will be fascinating to see how BMW's i3 fares next year. Promisingly, the i8 is already attracting premiums over list price as supply fails to meet demand...

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  • Chevrolet Cruze

    Perhaps inevitably, given Chevy's impending withdrawal from the UK, its cars leak cash the second they're driven away from the dealer. The Cruze is the most sensible Chevy on sale - it's effectively the successor to TG's old Reasonably Priced Lacetti - yet it's the most painful depreciator of the lot, the diesel version keeping just 41.7 per cent of its £19,360 price tag.

    In the words of Paul Horrell, "when Chevy first arrived in Europe, after GM took over Daewoo, the cars were cheap. Now they're not. They're versions of Vauxhalls with technical content removed, but the price difference isn't enough to make them viable. And fellow Korean brands Kia and Hyundai have improved far faster."

  • Chevrolet Orlando

    Another black mark for Chevy. Retaining 0.3 per cent more of its value than the Cruze, it's the Orlando people carrier.

    This is actually a decent car - a cheap and cheerful way to shift lots of people if dynamic acuity figures low down on your list of priorities. And at least it looks bold in a sea of grey minibuses.

    That's not enough to save it from drastic money-shedding, though. If you'd bought a £19,450 Orlando a year ago it would now be worth £8158.

  • Vauxhall Zafira

    In a rather neat segue, the next car on our last shares its platform with the Orlando, both GM people carriers keeping 42 per cent of their RRP after 12 months.

    As with the Orlando, this is a perfectly decent car, with sharp looks and appealing practicality. If the SUV really is usurping the MPV, the Zafira's inability to hold onto its value is stark evidence.

  • Aixam Crossline

    "The Crossline, an offspring of our times, makes room for decidedly contemporary aesthetics", reads Aixam's website. "Crossline offers you elegant styling with a touch of true imagination. Its copious, sculptured shapes are both heart-warming and an assurance of robustness and security."

    There's nothing heart-warming about a £12k car being worth £5k after one year, though. It may be driveable without a licence, but beyond that there's nothing of remote interest here. Buy a Twingo.

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  • Fiat Doblo

    A skim through the list of biggest depreciators reveals quite a few van-based MPVs, and the worst performer of the lot is Fiat's curiously named and awkwardly styled Doblo, retainer of 42.3 per cent of its value.

    Quite what its future holds now Fiat incessantly stretches the 500 into bigger, more commodious shapes is unclear. Given the regular 500 sits at the opposite end of the depreciation scale, keeping an impressive amount of its value, the Doblo's performance here looks all the worse.

  • Vauxhall Meriva

    Performing nearly as badly as their Chevrolet cousins, Vauxhalls occupy rather a lot of slots in the money-dropping table. Another vote of no-confidence in the MPV market is provided by the Meriva, whose £20k plummets to £8532 after a year. Its funky doors can't save it here.

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  • Vauxhall Astra

    Completing an undesirable hat-trick for Vauxhall, the Astra diesel rounds off our top ten. Proof that huge popularity is no barrier to gut-wrenching depreciation, the Astra - a stalwart in Britain's top five bestsellers - sheds comfortably more than half its value in its first year, retaining just 43.7 per cent of its list price.

    Its similarly successful rivals - the Ford Focus, Nissan Qashqai and VW Golf - are nowhere to be seen in this list, however...

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