Toyota Prius

Short answer: yes, usually. Facelifted cars tend to hold value better than the pre-facelift version of the same model, sometimes significantly better, and the reason has less to do with what changed under the hood and more to do with how the car looks. Research by EurotaxGlass's comparing used car values before and after mid-life facelifts found that updated exterior styling can improve residual values by up to 15 percent during the first year of ownership. The premium is highest for prestige brands where even subtle visual updates carry significant perceived value...

Every few years a car company rolls something onto an auto show stage that makes the crowd go quiet for a second before the applause starts. The proportions are perfect. The surfaces are sculpture. The details are unlike anything currently on the road. Then two years later the production version arrives and something has happened to it. The roofline is higher. The wheel arches are smaller. The front end has been softened. The car that made people stop talking is now a car people drive past without looking at. This happens so consistently it might as well be a law of automotive physics...

You know the feeling. You pull up next to something at a red light, do a double take, and think that thing costs a fortune. Then you look it up and your jaw drops for a completely different reason. Some cars just have the gift...