Industry magazine What Car? says prices of VW models have not collapsed as might have been expected.
VW cars which are three years old, or have done 36,000 miles, are typically worth 42.21% of their original value, the magazine said.
That is 2.7% lower than in September 2015, just before the scandal broke.
However, across the industry as a whole, second hand values have fallen by 2% over the same timeframe, suggesting that Volkswagens have performed only slightly worse than the average car on the market.
"I'm sure there are motorists out there who were rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of used VW prices falling off a cliff because of the emissions debacle," said What Car? editor Steve Huntingford.
"That simply hasn't come to pass, however, and while the VW story continues to rumble on a year after the story first came to light, the Golf and Polo are still among the most popular new cars in the UK."
The German car-maker admitted on 16 September last year that software had switched diesel engines to a "clean mode" whenever they were tested for emissions.
VW has recalled 200,000 cars in the UK as a result.
But while it is offering to repair them, it is not offering owners compensation.
VW drivers in the US have been offered up to $10,000 each to make up for the deception.
The What Car? research suggested that cars made by VW under the Audi brand experienced a similar drop in value to VW-badged cars over the past year.
It also found that the value of second hand Seat and Skoda models, also made by the VW group, fell by less than 0.5% over the 12-month period.
Second hand Volkswagens appear to be holding their value well, a motoring magazine says, despite the emissions scandal which emerged a year ago.