McLEAN, Va. -

The November 2014 issue of the NADA Used Car Guide's Perspective featured a retention review, outlining the value retention of several luxury vehicles that are either all-new or heavily revised for the 2014 model year.

In the Retention Review, the NADA used retention calculation based on a three-month average (September through November of this year) of NADA’s average trade-in value divided by the vehicle’s typically equipped MSRP, sourced from data from ALG and the NADA Used Car Guide. The company noted that the MSRPs provided do not include any incentives or rebates available at the time of purchase.

The following data was provided by the NADA via the November edition of Perspective.

2014 Luxury Mid-Size Utility Average 1-Year Retention = 72 percent

  • 2014 Acura MDX Technology 4WD 3.5L V6 1-Year Retention = 79.8 percent
  • 2014 BMW X5 35i AWD 3.0L I6 Turbo 1-Year Retention = 80.8 percent

Both the BMW X5 and Acura MDX retained a better-than-average percentage of value when compared to their segment’s average retention, while both also increased their value retention over their comparable 2013 models.

2014 Luxury Mid-Size Car Average 1-Year Retention = 66.6 percent

  • 2014 Acura RLX Technology 3.5L V6 1-Year Retention = 61.3 percent
  • 2014 Cadillac CTS Luxury 3.6L V6 1-Year Retention = 60.9 percent

Setting a different tone, both the Acura and the Cadillac mid-sized cars listed above retained less value after a year when compared to other vehicles in their class that did not undergo a redesign for 2014; while the RLX was all-new for 2014, the CTS lost 5.9 percentage points when compared to its comparable 2013 version (which retained 66.7 percent of its value after one year).

2014 Upper Sport Car Average 1-Year Retention = 71.8 percent

  • 2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe 428i 2.0L I4 Turbo 1-Year Retention = 72.3 percent
  • 2014 Jaguar F-Type Convertible Base 3.0L V6 SC 1-Year Retention = 70.7 percent

Both all-new for 2014, the 4 Series Coupe 428i and the Jaguar F-Type base convertible performed near-average for their segment, with the BMW retaining a slightly higher amount of its value after one year than average and the Jaguar slightly below the segment average.

2014 Luxury Sport Car Average 1-Year Retention = 70.3 percent

  • 2014 Cadillac ELR Luxury 1.4L I4 Electric/Hybrid 1-Year Retention = 59.7 percent

The only all-new model in its segment, the ELR did not perform too well against its competitors, retaining more than 10 percent less of its value after one year compared to others in its category that did not undergo many changes for 2014.

2014 Near-Luxury Car Average 1-Year Retention = 67 percent

  • 2014 Infiniti Q50 Premium 3.7L V6 1-Year Retention = 72.4 percent
  • 2014 Lexus IS 250 2.5L V6 1-Year Retention = 75.3 percent
  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 2.0L I4 Turbo 1-Year Retention = 81.4 percent

Mercedes-Benz’ all-new CLA250 and first-ever front-wheel-drive only vehicle is the highlight of this segment, retaining far more of its value than any of its competitors. The all-new Q50 and the refreshed IS 250 held their own, as well, retaining significantly more of their value when compared to the segment average, although the IS 250 did lose .3 percentage points compared to the 2013 model’s residual value after a year.

For a more in-depth look at each of these models and their strengths/weaknesses, check out the NADA’s Perspective.