If you’ve got one of these SUVs, you might be sitting on a goldmine.
As we all know, SUVs are one of the most popular and profitable segments of the automotive industry in 2023. Long gone are the days when families would be happy to cram themselves into a compact, and now even the smallest of broods are after an SUV even if it isn’t actually any more spacious.
But what if you were an early adopter of the SUV trend, and you’ve got an older car that you need to sell to downsize, or maybe you just want a newer car with better technology? Well, perhaps it’s worth hanging on a few more years as even SUVs from 20 years ago have skyrocketing values, and you could be in line for a windfall.
This is our list of 10 SUVs that’ll soon be worth a fortune.
10.2016 Land Rover Defender – $75,000
Land Rover’s new Defender is a really smart, albeit upmarket and modern take on the classic shape that the British company had been producing under one moniker or another since the 1940s. This classic shape of the rugged off-roader has now been rendered pointless by the new Defender, or so you might think.
Essentially a brand-new classic car, old shape Defenders from the last few years of production are absolutely going through the roof in value, with an average sale price of nearly $75,000 for the last year of production model at the time of writing.
9.2000 Jeep Cherokee – $35,000
Now you might be surprised to hear that a 20+-year-old off-roader with nearly 40-year-old underpinnings is one of the cars that has increased in value the most in the past three years. Yes, the XJ Cherokee has forever been a cherished vehicle by off-roading enthusiasts, but the rest of the car-buying public was generally happy to overlook it.
We now have a situation where the same Cherokees that once went for around $3,500 are now valued at $35,000. That is an increase of 900%, which is absolutely insane for what is a good (but not great) old Jeep.
8.2017 Range Rover Evoque Convertible – $30,000
The standard Evoque is a car we love, but this version is an acquired taste. Those of you with a more traditionalist view of the SUV may balk at the inclusion of the Evoque Convertible on this list, and we might not be completely opposed to that view. Taking what is essentially a fashion car and making it even more of an accessory, lopping the roof of the Evoque didn’t result in the sales success that Range Rover was hoping for, and it was quietly binned off after two years of production.
Range Rover’s failure in this regard may well be to your benefit, as a lack of numbers of the Evoque Convertible out there has resulted in a decent residual value: around $30,000. Still a fraction of what they were new, but prices have been steady, and we have a feeling that the limited run of production will see these prices creep up in the coming years.
7.1992 Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series – $35,000
Toyota’s wonderful Land Cruiser has been around since the ’50s, and was very much the Japanese version of the Jeep in the same way the Land Rover was the British equivalent. However, as you might’ve imagined, thanks to Toyota’s long-standing reputation for quality, reliability, and durability, the Land Cruiser is a far longer-lasting rival to these other famous names. So reliable they are that Land Cruisers are often found on the battlefield to this day in the Middle East and Africa, even examples pushing 50 years old.
Most generations of Land Cruiser will be absolutely bulletproof, but the most desirable on the market in 2023 is the 1992 70 Series, which comes in at around $35,000. For a car over 30 years old, that is a remarkable price point.
6.2021 Ford Bronco First Edition – $85,000
Ford decided to retire the Bronco nameplate in the mid-90s, as a result of dwindling sales and O.J. Simpson. We’re very pleased that the Blue Oval has brought it back, as the sixth-generation Bronco is a fine off-roader with a pleasantly retro design making it a direct compeтιтor with the Jeep Wrangler.
If you happen to possess one of the First Edition cars, celebrating the Bronco’s 2021 launch, you’re sitting on a very valuable car, with an average sale price of $85,000. One even sold for $1 million. Prices are tailing off, but there’s no reason to think this won’t reverse as the second market has fewer and fewer of these First Edition Broncos up for grabs.
5.2005 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG – $30,000-$45,000
An exceptionally cool car, Mercedes first started sticking huge engines in (yes, you guessed it) an armed forces-derived SUV when they concocted the 500 V8 G-Class in the early 90s. Fast-forward ten years, and you could get a very intimidating G-Class with a supercharged 5.4-liter V8. There goes the G55, scaring pᴀssers-by.
Of course, the years since have given birth to the G63 and G65 AMG as well, but in the mid-2000s, G55 was the first to really become a status symbol. For this reason, it’s worth a decent wedge of cash, with cars routinely selling for over $45,000. Again, this is nowhere near the list price in 2005 but for a nearly 20-year-old car with a throbbing motor and a big appreciation society, you can expect values to remain steady.
4.2006 Volvo XC90 V8
When it comes to rare and odd cars, those sticklers for safety at Volvo sticking a Yamaha-developed 4.4-liter V8 under the hood of their sensible and popular XC90 family SUV is certainly up there. The XC90 was already a great car to drive, and very popular as a shrunken school bus with its seven seats and outstanding practicality. Putting that engine in what was already a lovely car should’ve resulted in sales success.
Well, it didn’t. In the North American market, it sold okay, but the European market understandably didn’t really go for it. That relative rarity means it will be worth quite a bit more than it already is in years to come. Regularly going for around $12,500, they’ll be sure to shoot up in value when people realize how uncommon they really are.
3.1983 Talbot Matra Rancho – $15,500
A car so unbelievably ahead of its time, but not necessarily in the most positive sense. Okay, perhaps we’re being a little unfair on the Matra Rancho, given it was the first real “soft-roader” in existence. Whilst technically a forebear to the now common sight of cars with SUV looks but front-drive underpinnings, the Matra Rancho also introduced the idea of the third row of seats, making it an early MPV.
Mechanically related to the Simca 1100 compact and with a body made of polymer and fiberglᴀss, you might expect the Matra Rancho to be worthless. Au contraire: a good one of these is about $15,500. A good price for a front-wheel drive car made of plastic, the more of these start to fall apart the more the price will go up.
2.2001 Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin – $4,000
Mitsubishi launched the Pajero Pinin in 1998, and it was actually a decently popular car, largely due to a burgeoning market for three-door SUVs such as the first-generation Honda HR-V and Land Rover Freelander. Cars well marketed at “active lifestyle” types, even if they weren’t necessarily the greatest off-road cars ever built. That said this little Mitsubishi was perfectly solid, if a little bit boxy to look at.
Named after a very rude Spanish word, combined with the fact it was built by Pininfarina, led to some pleasing alliteration but not necessarily the best Mitsubishi product if you needed space and serious off-road capabilities. However, we tip the Pajero Pinin to have a moment in the sun in the not-too-distant future, as its small proportions combined with SUV styling mean that it’s a bit like a Japanese Bronco, sure to be worth more than the current average sale price of around $4,000.
1.2013 Acura ZDX – $20,000
Another car a little bit ahead of its time, the ZDX took aim at cars like the BMW X6 that offered crossover/SUV ride height with coupe looks. Unfortunately, BMW has a lot more brand cache than Acura and the ZDX fell a bit flat with consumers.
However, as we see with companies like Polestar, the shooting brake SUV is making a real comeback, and Acura is planning to release a new all-electric ZDX. Sadly this new car will reportedly lack the bold looks of its predecessor, so go out and grab one of these V6-powered style missteps that is now coming back around, and you may find yourself selling it for more than the approximate $20,000 you bought it for.
