The company analysed each model at four milestone ages – one, three, five and seven years. MINI, operating within a classically high-RV performing sector, was helped to the top of the rankings by its desirable image. Strong brand perception, increasing refinement of luxury off-road vehicles and ever improving fuel-efficiency saw Land Rover swoop in to second place.

Conversely, at the bottom of the heap are Chevrolet and Chrysler in 33rd and 34th positions – with poor performance blamed on the way these brands are perceived by consumers.

‘Residual value is the cornerstone of the industry,’ said Andrew Jackson, head of analytics at Glass’s. ‘It considers the universal facets of a vehicle, positive and negative, and distils them in to one figure. And it is this figure that people use to measure the overall performance of a car over time.’

Glass’s also looked at the key ingredients for a good RV, commenting that this is ‘a balancing act of many factors that all manufacturers aspire to perfect. But the one thing that drives residuals the most is desirability – by segment, from perceived build quality to driving dynamics and everything in between – and it is this desirability that saw MINI, Land Rover and Toyota fare so well in this league table.’

‘These top three reflect just how diverse the driving forces behind RVs can be,’ said Jackson. ‘MINI is popular due to being a premium brand offering small, efficient fun cars to drive. Land Rover however is very popular due to the prestige of the brand coupled with the nascent nature of the off-road segment. Meanwhile Toyota manufactures the majority of its vehicles in the B-, C- and 4×4 segments and targets the rational buyers’ market as opposed to the premium.’

Likewise, the bottom of the list reflects the difficulty a brand can have when either being built to a budget or suffering from a lack of public credibility.

‘Chrysler, for example, will not be helped by the fact that buyers will perceive that they are the purveyor of large, thirsty American vehicles which have perennially struggled in the UK, whilst the small car offerings are known to be re-badged Lancias which, due to quality issues, withdrew from the market in 1994 and have entered into British folklore as a byword for poor build quality ever since.’

‘Perception is reality,’ concluded Andrew. ‘If people believe a car is desirable, it will be perceived as being so, it will build a good reputation and hold a strong residual value.’

Manufacturer performance by residual value: