By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

For drivers who seek to buy models with the least depreciation in prices, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS might be the perfect fit as it is found to have the best-in-class residual value.

The Automotive Lease Guide (ALG), the industry consultancy in the United States, gave a 36-month residual value of 54 percent for the 2011 Sonata, one of the highest among the mid-size car category.

This means buyers of the Hyundai vehicles can resell them at 54 percent of the initial price tags, three years after the purchase. For example, if a U.S. citizen snaps up the model today at $20,000, he or she will be able to dispose of it at around $11,000 in 2013.

Hyundai said that the high residual value, which marks a progress of more than 10 percentage points from the previous survey, topped the models of its competitors such as Toyota, Nissan, Ford and Chevrolet in addition to premium brands such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes.

``Hyundai's model lineup continues to evolve and the completely redesigned 2011 Sonata punctuates the tremendous evolution in Hyundai performance, design, safety and quality,'' Troy Saito, manager of Hyundai Motor America, said in a statement.

``Strong residual value has become another element in Hyundai's overall value equation, reducing the overall cost of ownership and allowing us to offer strong lease options to our customers.''

Other Hyundai models also advanced. The 2010 Genesis sedan chalked up residual value of 47.5 percent according to the ALG.

The figures were 52.3 percent and 49 percent each for the all-new Genesis Coupe and the 2010 Veracruz.

Residual value is one of the most important criteria for U.S. customers to select cars because trading of second-hand vehicles remains high in the world's largest economy.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr