With the budget of the American consumer stretched thinner and thinner each day under Bidenomics, extra care and consideration for large purchases is being exercised and the experts at MarketWatch Guides have tried to lend a helping hand when it comes to auto purchases. 

Last week MarketWatch Guides laid out a list of both gas-powered and electric vehicles and examined the cars from the same brands to uncover which brands exhibited the highest and lowest deprecation after a year.

The Toyota RAV4 LE and the Toyota RAV4 Prime are at the forefront in terms of depreciation, with the Prime outperforming the LE by $2,509 after one year. The RAV4 Prime, a plug-in hybrid, preserves 96.05% of its initial value, while the RAV4 LE retains only 86.88%, which translates to a depreciation of approximately $3,761.

The Hyundai Sonata experiences a greater depreciation of $1,417 compared to its electric counterpart, the Hyundai Ioniq 6, which depreciates by $721, marking a $696 lesser depreciation. The Hyundai Ioniq 5, similar to the Ioniq 6, maintains the highest value retention at 98.30% after a year, surpassing the Sonata’s 94.85%.

The Chevrolet Malibu depreciates by $2,629, which is $463 more than the Chevrolet Bolt EV’s depreciation of $2,166 over the same period. Despite being initially less expensive, the Malibu suffers from higher depreciation and a lower residual value of 91.22%, whereas the Bolt EV retains 93.27% of its resale value.

Additional insights reveal that Mini, Chevrolet, and Fiat are the brands with the smallest price differences between their gas-powered and electric models, with the Mini Cooper Countryman and Mini Cooper Electric Hardtop having just a $1,750 gap.

The Porsche Cayenne incurs the highest operational costs among gasoline vehicles over five years, totaling $56,010. Conversely, the Nissan Leaf is the most economical electric vehicle, costing an average of $18,509 over five years.

The Audi A3 and the Audi e-tron GT show the largest price discrepancy between traditional and electric models. The A3 starts at approximately $35,800, whereas the e-tron GT begins at $106,500, a stark difference of $70,700.

You can read more at MarketWatch Guides.