Popularity of off-roaders continues to rise

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Often derided for being anti-social and environmentally unfriendly, 4x4s have enjoyed something of a resurgence in popularity on the second hand market, according to industry analysts Glass's Guide.

Off-road vehicles currently make up four of the top ten most popular used cars, with the Lexus RX400h taking the principal position. A used example takes just 25.3 days on average to sell once being advertised.
This was closely followed by the Land Rover Discovery 4, which took an average of 26 days to change hands, and the Hyundai Tuscon, taking 27.5 days.

Rupert Pontin, Chief Car Editor at Glass's, comments: "It's a really interesting top 10 this month if we look back over previous months. Lifestyle 4x4s and MPVs are very much the most desirable used cars on the market, which has been the situation since Christmas. However last month we saw a convertible taking the number two spot.

"It's fairly indicative of the weather - a bit of sunshine a few weeks ago meant people started thinking about summer, but with the cold spell returning and the weather remaining poor, off road vehicles are very much in pole position once again.

"The models themselves aren't a surprise - Discovery 4 and RX 400h are all-season favourites. I would expect that most off roaders will start to fall out of the top 10 as and when the weather starts to improve, and then we'll see a sustained increase in convertibles and roadsters."

Languishing at the bottom of the list are the two compact offerings from Chrysler, the Delta and Ypsilon, which take an agonising 93 and 111 days to sell respectively.

Their lack of popularity is blamed on the fact that the Chrysler brand isn't associated with smaller cars in the UK. Both the Delta and Ypsilon are sold as Lancias on the continent.