Every year, iSeeCars, Edmunds, and CarEdge publish their "best resale value" lists. The lists are useful, but they all look backward: they tell you which vehicles have already retained their value over the past five years. What they don't tell you is which vehicles are continuing to hold up right now, in this market, in the next 60 days.

We ran a different cut. We took CarCast's full 60-day forward forecast database, filtered to segments with confidence scores above 0.70 and at least 13 weeks of price history, and ranked by expected upward price movement. The result is a list of vehicles that aren't just depreciating slowly. They're actively appreciating in the secondary market right now.

These ten segments are the most data-defensible value retainers in our universe of 792 tracked vehicles.

The 10 used cars holding value best, ranked

Rank	Vehicle	Current ask	60-day forecast	Expected move
1	2019 Mazda CX-5 Sport	$18,988	$19,996	+5.31%
2	2023 Chevrolet Colorado LT	$32,997	$34,641	+4.98%
3	2019 Kia Sorento LX	$13,999	$14,607	+4.34%
4	2020 Nissan Frontier SV	$21,990	$22,904	+4.16%
5	2023 Genesis GV70 2.5T	$29,863	$31,007	+3.83%
6	2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300	$28,645	$29,710	+3.72%
7	2019 GMC Canyon SLE	$24,323	$25,153	+3.41%
8	2021 Toyota RAV4 LE	$25,965	$26,789	+3.17%
9	2021 Kia Telluride LX	$24,995	$25,775	+3.12%
10	2020 Subaru Outback Base	$21,228	$21,881	+3.08%

Three patterns jump out.

Pattern 1: Mid-size trucks dominate

Three of the top ten are mid-size trucks — the 2023 Colorado, the 2020 Frontier, and the 2019 Canyon. We wrote about the mid-size truck BUY cluster two weeks ago, and that thesis has only strengthened. The story is consistent with what iSeeCars' historical depreciation studies have shown for years: the Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, GMC Canyon, and Nissan Frontier all sit in the top 10 of lowest five-year depreciation. What changed in 2026 is that the segment is no longer just depreciating slowly. It's actively appreciating from where it was three months ago.

If you own a 2019-2023 mid-size truck right now and have been thinking about selling, the data argues for waiting six to eight weeks. If you're a wholesaler, this is the segment to be buying into at auction this month.

Pattern 2: Compact SUVs from the right brands

The 2019 Mazda CX-5 Sport leads the entire list at +5.31%, and the 2021 RAV4 LE, 2020 Subaru Outback Base, and 2021 Kia Telluride LX all crack the top 10. These aren't surprising names — Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru consistently rank as the top three brands by five-year resale value across CarEdge data (Toyota 64.9%, Subaru 61.2%, Mazda 59.7%). What is surprising is the magnitude of the current upward move. A 5% climb in 60 days on the Mazda CX-5 is the kind of pricing action you usually only see during supply shocks.

What's driving it: tight supply on 3-6 year-old compact SUV inventory, summer family travel demand, and a buying audience that learned during the 2024 reset to wait for prices to fall — and is now realizing they haven't.

Pattern 3: Luxury and Korean entries are quietly outperforming

The 2023 Genesis GV70 at +3.83% and the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 at +3.72% are the two unexpected entries on this list. Genesis specifically is having a moment. CarEdge brand resale rankings put Genesis well behind Toyota and Subaru historically, but the GV70 specifically has captured a buyer who would have bought a BMW X3 or Audi Q5 a few years ago and is now opting for the better-equipped Genesis at a lower price point. Our data shows ten of twelve tracked Genesis segments are positive movers right now — by far the best ratio of any luxury brand we cover.

The GLC 300 is more conventional. Mid-size luxury crossovers tend to hold value during stable economic windows, and the current macro setup — MUVVI at a three-year high, used-car CPI stable month-to-month — qualifies as one.

What this list doesn't include

Notably absent: Tesla. Despite the recent Model Y rebound we documented, Tesla's average 60-day forecast across 30 tracked segments is only +0.39%. A handful of Tesla model years are strong individual BUY signals (2024 Model Y at +2.5%, 2021 Model 3 Standard Range Plus at +2.3%), but the brand as a whole sits well below Genesis, Rivian, Mazda, Honda, and Subaru in average forward signal strength.

Also missing: full-size trucks. The Ford F-150 lineup is overwhelmingly flat to slightly negative. The 2020 Silverado 1500 LT is one of our few SELL signals at -2.1%. The 2025 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro is a -1.6% SELL. The full-size truck segment is the opposite of mid-size — too much inventory, soft retail demand, and pricing pressure from new-truck incentive programs.

How this list is built (and why it's different from competitors)

Every "best resale value" list you've seen — iSeeCars, Edmunds, KBB — is backward-looking. They calculate five-year depreciation by looking at how the model has performed over the past five years. That's useful for general "if I buy this car now, what's it likely to be worth in five years" decisions.

CarCast is different. We're forecasting where pricing is heading in the next 60 days, segment by segment, based on real US dealer listing data. That gives a different kind of utility: it tells you which vehicles to act on right now, not which vehicles have a good historical track record.

The two are complementary. Historical depreciation tells you the long-term shape of the curve. Our 60-day forecast tells you what the curve is doing this quarter.

The vehicles on this list are the ones where both data sets agree: strong historical depreciation track record, and active upward price movement right now.

What to do with this list

If you're buying: any of these ten vehicles is positioned to cost more in two months than it does today. The 2019 Mazda CX-5 Sport at $18,988 is forecast to climb to ~$20,000. The 2019 Kia Sorento LX at $13,999 is forecast at $14,607. These are budget-tier vehicles that are not going to get cheaper.

If you're selling: the data argues for holding inventory of these segments rather than discounting to move it. The market is coming to you.

If you're a wholesaler: this is your week to bid on these segments at auction. By July, the price discovery will already be reflected in lane prices.