Euro sports sedan bargains

It is certain that the tireless John Farnham wasn’t musing about second-tier sports sedans when he belted out the timeless Pressure Down. But should you want to set the wheels in motion with a sports sedan purchase then taking the boost pressure down (ahem) is wise.

Everyone wants an Audi RS6 Avant, but barely anybody bought an S6 sedan.

Sure, ditching the ‘R’ part of the badge trades some of the aggression, but a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 331kW and 550Nm can do plenty of talking and walking. Or, more accurately, sprinting from standstill to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds (seven-tenths slower than big brother).

And what of a three-year-old S6 sedan that cost $170,427 plus on-road costs brand new? With just 34,000km on the clock, try $83,500 before bargaining. Yep, it has certainly taken more than just the pressure down.

The Audi doesn’t win the ultimate second-tier sports sedan depreciation award, however. That (dis)honour goes to the Jaguar XF S, the current generation of which has plummeted like a British teabag into boiling water.

A current-generation 30d S with a 221kW/700Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine asked $116,950 plus on-road costs brand new, but we found a one-year-old, 2017 example with 8200km on the clock priced at $69,900 plus on-roads.

That’s a $47,000 drop, or depreciation of $3920 per month and a loss of $5.73 for every single kilometre driven. Okay, the 6.2sec 0-100km/h is borderline lukewarm sedan territory, but with the demise of Holden’s VF Series II Commodore, nothing feels more like a ride and handling replacement than a current-gen rear-wheel drive XF.

And if diesel won’t do, the 30t S packs a 280kW/480Nm 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine in the large sedan for a 5.3sec 0-100km/h. It started at $124,450 plus on-road costs, but we found a two-year-old example with 7200km on the clock for $79,900 plus on-roads.

Volvo is a depreciation demon as well, and even if its new S90 T6 R-Design isn’t a sports sedan in the true sense of the word, its 5.9sec 0-100km/h isn’t bad from a 235kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder driving all four wheels.

What is bad (for the original owner) is that it cost $100,612 plus on-road costs brand new – and a year later with 5300km on the clock, it has fallen to $74,000 plus on-roads according to our find.

For that exact pricetag, you could also get a three-year-old Mercedes-Benz E400 with a 245kW/480Nm 3.0-litre turbo V6 petrol and 5.3sec 0-100km/h, but with 59,000km showing. That means the tri-star second-tier product has lost less than half its $129,040 plus on-road costs original ask over three calendars, easing some of that original-owner pressure…