Best Cars To Buy New 2016 [EXCLUSIVE]
To help you find a car, truck, SUV or minivan that offers the best long-term value without compromising on an outstanding ownership experience, we created the Best Car for the Money awards. Put simply, the Best Car for the Money award winners have the best combination of long-term value and quality in each of their classes in the U.S. News Best Car rankings.
best cars to buy new 2016
See photos of the 2016 Best Cars for the Money, and check out the U.S. News Best Car Rankings for a complete list of the best cars on the market. If you want a great deal on a new car, check out our Best Price Program for guaranteed savings off MSRP with no negotiation required. Over 75,000 car buyers have used the program and saved an average of $3,279 off MSRP.
With 2016 models now on dealers' lots, shoppers want cars that don't just look good in glossy TV ads but that also offer real value. With getting the most for your money in mind, Kelley Blue Book is announcing today its Best Buy awards for 2016.
From the more than 300 models available in the U.S. for 2016, analysts from Kelley originally narrowed the field down to 49 finalists in 12 categories. Then after further testing, Kelley analysts picked the winners in categories ranging from high-performance sports cars, like the Corvette pictured above, to family SUVs.
The Kelley analysts describe the redesigned 2016 Civic as "stylish, refined and tech-savvy and sporting a powerful and efficient new powertrain," and they say "it is the best car you can buy for under $20,000."
With a full redesign for 2016, the Optima bested stalwarts of this class like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Kelley analysts say the redesign moved Optima to the top "after years of winning fans with its sharp style, premium features and solid value."
Kelley says the 2016 Impala "is stylish inside and out, offers a long list of in-car technologies including Apple CarPlay and wireless phone charging and balances smooth highway ride with responsive handling."
The Volt is a repeat winner from last year, and Kelley analysts say the redesigned 2016 version "complements greater battery range and improved performance with sleeker styling, more features and even-more-attractive pricing."
The CR-V, the best-selling SUV in the U.S., adds another award here as a Best Buy. Kelley analysts cite the CR-V for "effortless driving manners, a roomy interior and a bulletproof reputation for reliability."
A total redesign for 2016 propelled the RX to this win. Kelley analysts say buyers find the RX "comfortable, reliable and desirable." That has helped the RX become the best-selling luxury SUV as well as the best seller of any Lexus.
Long considered the best minivan, the Odyssey adds to its awards here. Test drivers praise its combination of comfortable ride and agile handling. The Odyssey includes family-friendly features like a built-in vacuum cleaner.
Budget-friendly doesn't begin to describe the features and room you get for the money with the Versa Note hatchback. One of the most notable features is Nissan's Around View Monitor that shows a top-down 360-degree view of the car, which makes parallel parking or squeezing into a tight spot a breeze. The Versa Note's backseat is massive for the class, with the kind of room typically found in a larger class of cars. That $20,000 gets you a fully loaded Versa Note with navigation, heated seats, USB input, Around View Monitor, Bluetooth, smart keyless access and more.
Available as a sedan or hatchback, the Sonic's aggressive exterior and unique interior styling stand out in a class of cars that otherwise look similar. Inside, the Sonic has a motorcycle-inspired gauge cluster that floats above the dashboard with a digital speedometer and an analog tachometer. The Sonic's ride quality is one of its defining characteristics with a smooth, sophisticated ride suited for those long hauls back and forth to college.
The Mazda3 is a must for the first-time driver with a flair for the sporty. Mazda's compact sedan and hatchback don't just look sporty, but are legitimately fun to drive in the grand scheme of fun-to-drive cars, and not just "for the class." For this car, fun to drive doesn't mean inefficient, thanks to highway fuel economy ratings of up to 39 mpg with the automatic transmission.
An old car-buying "pro tip" goes something like this: Buy a new car in the late summer to early fall, when the current model year is winding down, and you'll get a great deal. But there are better bargains in store if you're willing to buy a model that's about to be discontinued or redesigned. We've put together a list of nine such cars and SUVs, based on the potential for a discount and their right-now availability. With these cars, you'll find that dealerships will be more flexible with price and manufacturers will provide generous incentives and rebates to attract bargain hunters.
The all-new 2017 Buick LaCrosse will be hitting dealer lots soon, but there are still plenty of 2016 models on hand. The LaCrosse is a comfortable, entry-level full-size luxury sedan with a hybrid model and all-wheel drive as options. Edmunds data shows that the average price paid is below invoice and when you factor in the thousands of dollars off from incentives, it makes for an even more attractive package.
Despite giving the Chrysler 200 a full redesign in 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has decided to discontinue this midsize sedan in favor of producing more Jeep and Ram vehicles. It's a shame too, because it seemed like the 200 was just hitting its stride. Edmunds editors gave the 2015 version a "B" rating, and with a few minor changes for 2016 this is still a solid car that can be had for roughly $3,000-$6,000 off MSRP.
The Dodge Dart also fell under Fiat Chrysler's car-cutting ax. But while the 200 was a solid pick, Edmunds editors weren't as fond of the Dart, giving it a "C" rating for the 2015 model year. This small sedan does have attractive styling and an excellent infotainment system, but its engines and a few refinement quirks kept it from being at the top of its class. But perhaps our editors' reservations aren't yours, and you just want an inexpensive car that looks good. With discounts ranging from $3,000-$4,000 off MSRP, the 2016 Dart can deliver on both of those fronts.
Even luxury car shoppers can appreciate a bargain and the 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class delivers both on the car and the price. The E-Class sedan, set to be redesigned for the 2017 model year, has long been one of the go-to picks for midsize luxury sedans. The "A" rating our editors gave it in 2015 further solidifies its reputation. The coupe and wagon will remain unchanged for now. We spotted a number of Price Promise deals of $7,000- $10,000 off MSRP for the sedan. While E-Class sedan shoppers are more likely to lease than buy, a lower selling price usually translates to a better lease deal.
The Subaru Impreza sedan is scheduled for a 2017 redesign. In the meantime, Subaru will be encouraging its dealerships to clear out the remaining 2016 models of this spacious and reliable sedan with standard all-wheel drive. When it comes to potential savings, we should note that the Impreza has a small price window between the MSRP and the invoice price. There's not a ton of profit margin on this car to begin with, so the savings won't look as impressive as some of the other cars on this list. Expect to see offers around $900-$1,100 off, but that could change in the coming months if incentives are added.
The current Toyota Highlander, a comfortable and spacious crossover, is going out on a high note before getting a refresh in 2017. Our editors gave the 2016 model an "A" rating. We recommend looking at models with the smooth V6 engine, since it has more power and the same fuel economy as the four-cylinder version. There are plenty of Highlanders in stock. This means that for now, the savings may not be as substantial (roughly $2,000-$3,000 below MSRP). We recommend keeping a close eye on this crossover however, as prices are sure to fall in the coming months.
Then we limit base prices to $50,000 or less--to our editors, value is a big virtue. Then we eliminate vehicles unavailable for road tests by our editors prior to December 1, 2015, and unavailable for purchase by April 30, 2016--a rule which eliminates vehicles like the new Buick Cascada, Chevy Spark, Chevy Cruze, and Tesla Model X from the running.
We'll be naming our winner on January 4, 2016. On the same day, we'll also name the winners of the Motor Authority and Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy awards--as well as the winners of our Driver's Choice awards.
The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu lineup skips performance models, plush luxury appointments, and all-wheel drive; yet the driving experience, comfortable cabin, and frugal numbers may convince you to trade in that Camry, Accord, or Fusion.
The 2016 Volvo XC90 is a capable and comfortable luxury utility vehicle that whispers its virtues rather than shouting them--and reinvents Volvo as a purveyor of quietly sophisticated design, comfort, and efficiency.
Why we picked it: These years incorporate two generations of Civic, the swoopy, futuristic-looking 2006 to 2011 eighth generation and the more modest 2012 to 2015 ninth-gen. The earlier cars are better looking and much more fun to drive, but the newer ones have a slightly better reliability record. All of these Civics make excellent commuter cars, offering decent power, good fuel economy and low maintenance costs. Sport Si versions with more power even pack in plenty of fun. Hybrid Civics offer stellar fuel economy but are very hard to find for $10,000. There are also sporty Si models and manual transmissions to be had, even at this price.
To determine our list of the best vehicles under $10,000, we cross-referenced a broad range of reliability and quality scores, evaluations by vehicle testers, thousands of long-term reports and reviews from owners and factored in our own long-term experiences with these vehicles as new and used cars. 041b061a72