The growing appeal of hybrid power is reflected by the presence of three hybrids in the top 10 of Glass’s league of fastest selling used cars for September.

They are led by Toyota’s Prius, which holds the top spot for the second month in a row. In third place is the Honda Insight, while Glass’s believes that the Lexus RX has reached its position at number eight largely through sales of the hybrid version.

Glass’s head of valuations, Rupert Pontin, says: “It will be interesting to see whether this situation continues over the coming months. The success of the Prius certainly highlights the value-for-money status of this model and reiterates the importance of low running costs to second-hand car buyers.”

Rupert notes that the buying patterns of cost-conscious families, out in force this September, has placed two family-friendly Vauxhall MPVs in the top 10. He feels that the Zafira and Meriva now represent excellent value for money. He is also pleased to see the Mazda CX-5, which he describes as “competent and often underrated”, in 10^th place. “Retail buyers have at last seen the appeal of this crossover SUV but generally speaking these are in short supply.”