Finding a new car, truck, or SUV is stressful enough without trying to calculate the depreciation. Recent research has revealed that certain midsize SUVs have the highest five-year depreciation rate in the market, making it crucial for buyers to be aware of these models from Nissan and Chevrolet before deciding. However, some of the best midsize models have below-average depreciation rates, and those are also listed as better alternatives.

The Nissan Pathfinder is a midsize SUV with the highest five-year depreciation

When iSeeCars looked at sales of three and five-year-old used vehicles, some held value better than others. The Nissan Pathfinder isn’t the right choice if you want an SUV that doesn’t depreciate. iSeeCars found that the Nissan Pathfinder was the number one midsize SUV with the highest five-year depreciation, coming in at 44.9%. For the average midsize SUV, buyers can anticipate around 39.9% of depreciation over the first five years of ownership.

Midsize SUVs, as a whole, tend to depreciate more than a sedan or smaller vehicles. This could be due to higher fuel costs or overall higher costs due to the size, but it is clear Pathfinder will lose some value over the first five years of ownership.

That doesn’t mean this Nissan SUV is a bad buy, but you might want to consider a slightly used one. Most depreciation happens in the first year, so you might be able to skip some lost value by buying used.

Hyundai and Chevrolet’s midsize SUVs also made the list of the highest depreciation

Unfortunately for the Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Traverse, iSeeCars found that these midsize SUVs had some of the highest depreciation over five years. The Santa Fe saw 44.8% depreciation, and the Traverse saw 44.2%. Both are still almost 5% over the average midsize sport utility vehicle.

If the Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Traverse were on your list of SUVs to seek out this year, perhaps buying a used one instead of a new one would be beneficial. That way, the vehicle has already depreciated a bit before landing in your driveway.

Following the Nissan and Hyundai vehicles, the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano also made the list. Ford’s Edge saw a 43.2% depreciation, and the Murano dropped 42.7% over the first five years.

Here are some alternatives to consider

On the other end of the spectrum, a few midsize SUVs depreciated the least over five years. It might not surprise you that the Toyota 4Runner was the midsize SUV with the lowest depreciation at 21.7%. The 4Runner has a long history of reliability that likely contributed to this, and buyers hold onto the Toyota SUV longer than usual.

Following the 4Runner, the Honda Pilot and the Dodge Durango showed low depreciation rates. iSeeCars found that the Pilot depreciated 36.7% over five years while the Durango’s five-year depreciation rate sat around 36.1%.

Depreciation is just a part of vehicle ownership, but that doesn’t mean you need to lose a lot of money immediately. These midsize SUVs with the highest five-year depreciation might have been on your list, but all hope is not lost. Check out the 4Runner, Pilot, and Durano instead.