jord63

I would guess its because the large premium upfront is not recouped on the back end of the lease - hence the lower residual. (ie the 10k +/- premium for an S is not seen in the projected resale market when the leasing company sells the car)

JMaples

What's even more interesting is the hit you take if you go with the X-51 option!

boolala

But since there are fewer X51 cars why are their residuals even lower than the S? By your reasoning the X51 should have a higher residual but it doesn't.

No. What does explain it is that in virtually all cases the same car but with a smaller less powerful engine has a higher lease residual. This is almost always true. Check it out.