
BMW X5 M
Reference — shown, never scored
Why 2.4: 617 hp of commuting theatre. Nobody tracks one, nobody keeps one past the lease, and the badge does all the talking — the segment's thesis, restated in Bavarian.
Market value
Median asking price, good condition · $115k (2020) → $72k (2026), trending down · illustrative data
The long version
Three-year leases are the natural habitat here, a different kind of churn than the speculative flipping seen elsewhere on this list — nobody's chasing a profit, they're handing back a lease-return SUV and signing paperwork on the next one. The badge buys school-run status more than engagement; 617 hp gets used to merge onto a highway, not chase an apex, because the ownership mindset never planned for the second half of that spec sheet. Depreciation runs hard and fast, the predictable result of a car bought for image on a payment plan rather than for a driving experience anyone's actually seeking out.