U.S. News Names Their Best Cars For The Money, But Are These REALLY The Best?

The U.S. News Best Car for the Money awards recognize 23 vehicles that earn the highest marks for overall value and appeal within their respective categories. To select the award winners, U.S. News has combined its newly released 2010 car rankings with total cost of ownership data provided by IntelliChoice.com.

"While car shoppers are starting to come back to the showrooms, they are looking for a good value more than ever before," said Jamie Page Deaton, Lead Automotive Editor for U.S. News. "But 'good value' does not simply mean 'cheap'. The Best Car for the Money awards recognize vehicles that can be the most rewarding to own - namely those that win the most praise and offer the most compelling overall value."

The U.S. News car rankings provide an unbiased comparison of each vehicle to its competitors, helping shoppers identify the best cars in each category. Rankings are based primarily on the balanced, diverse opinions of hundreds of professional auto critics, which are analyzed and scored to create a consensus opinion about each car.

With a 22-year history of providing consumers with reliable information about vehicle costs, IntelliChoice.com measures both the target price that consumers can expect to pay for a vehicle as well as its 5-year total cost of ownership. Combining this data with U.S. News car rankings allows different models to be compared on a very useful metric - overall appeal for the money.

"There is no question that car shoppers are now paying more attention to total ownership costs such as resale value, fuel economy, and other factors," said Charlie Vogelheim, Executive Editor of IntelliChoice.com. "Taking into account these real world costs as well as U.S. News's unbiased car rankings, the Best Car for the Money awards identify vehicles that should make any car shopper's short list."

For complete information about this year's Best Car for the Money winners and the awards methodology, visit http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-truck/best-cars-for-the-money/. For more information about the Total Cost of Ownership and other related data, visit http://www.intellichoice.com. The 23 winners of the 2010 Best Car for the Money awards are listed below:

Subcompact Cars                 Nissan Versa
Compact Cars                    Hyundai Elantra
Hatchbacks                      Honda Fit
Midsize Cars                    Toyota Camry
Family Sedans                   Ford Taurus
Upscale Compact Cars            Volkswagen GTI
Upscale Sedans                  Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Sedans                   Acura RL
Hybrid Cars                     Toyota Prius
Affordable Sports Cars          Mazda MX-5 Miata
Luxury Sports Cars              Chevrolet Corvette
Compact Crossover/SUVs          Honda CR-V
Midsize Crossover/SUVs          Toyota Venza
Full Size SUVs                  Toyota Sequoia
Luxury Compact Crossover/SUVs   Infiniti EX
Luxury Midsize Crossover/SUVs   Lexus RX 350
Luxury Full Size SUVs           Toyota Land Cruiser
Hybrid SUVs                     Lexus RX Hybrid
Off-Road SUVs                   Toyota FJ Cruiser
Minivans                        Honda Odyssey
Wagons                          Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
Compact Pickup Trucks           Toyota Tacoma
Full Size Pickup Trucks         Ford F-150



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MSP6 - 12/8/2009 11:48:40 AM

+3 Boost

That's what I call "creative categorization"
Sounds like they choose a winner, then created the category that suits it best.

HSCenterconsole - 12/8/2009 12:31:20 PM

+4 Boost

The Acura RL? Please. It is one of the most forgotten about cars out there.

lexusrox123 - 12/9/2009 10:45:05 AM

+2 Boost

...and ugliest.

M35MT - 12/8/2009 12:49:51 PM

+3 Boost

They're looking at facts only: spec sheet, price and residual value. No subjectivity will yield results like this...

M53R - 12/8/2009 1:44:36 PM

-1 Boost

Luxury Full Size SUVs Toyota Land Cruiser
??????? Seriously?!!!!!! It's way too overpriced!

commander104 - 12/8/2009 6:40:58 PM

+1 Boost

Hence "Luxury" and it will last forever

lexworld - 12/8/2009 7:37:21 PM

+2 Boost

Yeah M53R Seriously! The Toyota Landcruiser is a very serious luxury suv and it will practically last forever even with a significant amount of abuse, which at this level is very doubtful because of the individuals who purchase these kind of vehicles. The awesome appearance of this thing inside and out speaks for itself. After that the test drive and believe you me it'll be at the top of your list...I know because I bought a 99(first yr model w/ the 4.7 V8) yr model years ago cash money. It was worth every penny!..and till this day it is the only vehicle my family wish we still had. They loved that thing!

lexworld - 12/8/2009 7:42:04 PM

+1 Boost

Correction..the 98 is the model i believe was introduced w/ the 4.7 V8 engine.

upwards - 12/8/2009 7:56:58 PM

+1 Boost

With the quality coming from Toyota at this point its hard to fathom how an individual would aspire to waste their money.

XYZZ - 12/9/2009 5:22:02 AM

0 Boost

so maybe there are some glitches in 0.1% or less of certain toyota models, overpublicized because toyota has had TOP NOTCH quality for DECADES, and now people say toyota quality ain't there anymore?

there is still NO OTHER mfgr who consistently pumps out HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of QUALITY vehicles every year, across a wide range of product types.

it is NO ACCIDENT that nine of the vehicles listed are made by toyota/lexus. and it would be TEN if the cheap hyundai didn't displace the quality corolla.

XYZZ - 12/11/2009 3:31:11 AM

0 Boost

9% is more like a GM/chryco failure rate.

for all the mindless bleating and hollering about how toyota has deteriorating quality, howcum they STILL get the best quality ratings? and in the owner-reported failure rate of subsystems, aging toyotas STILL get columns full of red circles (LESS than 1% problem rate) and 1/2 red dots (1-2%).

shrinking three, otoh, get a whole bunch of black dots (MORE than 3%). yes the absolute number of failures is still small, but they represent a 3x factor and more.

lexusrox123 - 12/9/2009 10:46:55 AM

+2 Boost

Corvette=Luxury? Since when?

85bmw745i - 12/15/2009 12:11:56 AM

+1 Boost

I would pick the A3 over the Golf as a premium small car. The golf is great but the Audi is more of a premium car than the Golf, although the Golf is more upscale than its competition, I think the A3 is better suited for the title.

85bmw745i - 12/15/2009 12:15:05 AM

+1 Boost

I was just about to say that. How is the Vette Luxury/ It is the least luxurious of any car in it's class. I wouldn't even consider it luxury with all that cheap plastic, thin leather, cheap seats that flop around and overall shoddy fit and finish. As a performance car I could see it maybe due to the bang for your buck advantage it has, and even then I would probably give the nod to the GTR. I respect the vette, but it is by no means a luxury car in any way.