The Canadian “Black Book” results are in: the 2005 MINI is among the top five cars listed for holding its value four years down the road.

All passenger cars and light trucks with new values under $70,000 are considered, but only five from that large sampling could be named the best at retaining their value based upon their original manufacturer's suggested retail price.

This is a nice list to be on, because a car's residual value affects how much it can be sold for in the future and is an important consideration when buying a new car. New cars lose up to 40% of their value as soon as you drive them off the lot, so a car that doesn’t depreciate in value as much pays you back, over time, when it's time to make a trade.

So who made the top five? 

The Mazda3 With an MSRP in 2005 of about $13,680. The Mini Cooper, which came in with a MSRP of just less than $17,000. The Toyota Corolla, which started at $13,780. The Honda Civic, at $13,260 MSRP. And the Smart fortwo, starting in 2005 at $16,500 (this is the quirky looking, micro-sized city runabout that sips fuel and looks like a fancy golf cart).

It’s interesting that no car on the list topped the $17,000 mark, and that, styling wise, there’s really only one car on the list that, well, you know.

I’m not saying, I’m just saying…