Ford tops U.S. News' value rankings
Ford is the biggest winner in the annual Best Cars for the Money rankings by U.S. News, awarded Wednesday in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Ford has winners in five of the 23 categories of 2012 cars, SUVs, pickups and minivans.
Overall, 12 different brands have category winners. First-time winners this year include Subaru for its Outback, Audi for its Q5 and Jeep for its Wrangler. Ford's winning models are Taurus, Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, Fiesta and Edge.
On its Best Cars website, U.S. News ranks cars against their peers by compiling reviews of each vehicle. For today's awards, the editors combined that overall ranking with the average purchase price and five-year cost of ownership as calculated by TrueCar.com.
Gallery: 2012
North American International Auto Show
Hottest
new small cars for 2012
5
used cars NOT to buy
Gas
price relief: New Honda cheaper to drive
"You don't have to choose between a great car and a great price," said Jamie Page Deaton, managing editor of the Best Cars site. "The award-winning vehicles are both easy to live with and easy to afford."
Here is the list of U.S. News winners:
CATEGORY & WINNER
Affordable Compact SUVs - 2 row
2012 Chevrolet Equinox
Affordable Compact SUVs - 3 row
2012 Toyota RAV4
Affordable Large Cars
2012 Ford Taurus
Affordable Large SUVs
2012 Chevrolet Suburban
Affordable Midsize Cars
2012 Ford Fusion
Affordable Midsize SUVs - 2 row
2012 Ford Edge
Affordable Midsize SUVs - 3 row
2012 Mazda CX-9
Affordable Small Cars - Compact
2012 Chevrolet Cruze
Affordable Small Cars - Subcompact
2012 Ford Fiesta
Affordable Sports Cars
2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Compact Pickup Trucks
2012 Toyota Tacoma
Full Size Pickup Trucks
2012 Ram 1500
Hatchbacks
2012 Ford Fiesta
Hybrid Cars
2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Hybrid SUVs
2012 Lexus RX Hybrid
Luxury Compact SUVs
2012 Audi Q5
Luxury Large SUVs
2012 Cadillac Escalade
Luxury Midsize SUVs
2012 Lexus RX 350
Minivans
2012 Mazda Mazda5
Off-Road SUVs
2012 Jeep Wrangler
Upscale Midsize Cars
2012 Buick Regal
Upscale Small Cars
2012 Volkswagen GTI
Wagons
2012 Subaru Outback
