10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000 Of 2015 Named By KBB.com

IRVINE, Calif., May 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- There's great news for car shoppers who want something fun that won't break the bank: Cool and affordable can coexist in a new car, as detailed in this year's list of the 10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000, hand-selected by the expert editors at Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry.  The redesigned Mazda3 is No. 1 once again for 2015, and it notably has been featured on KBB.com's annual affordable "cool cars" list every year of the vehicle's 12-year existence.

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Two criteria -- fun-to-drive and fun-to-own -- are critical among the deciding factors of what the editors freely admit is a very subjective "cool factor," the over-arching number-one criterion for a vehicle to place on this list.  Each vehicle is available for purchase at $18,000 or less, using Kelley Blue Book's exclusive Fair Purchase Price as the yardstick.  Updated weekly and based on current market conditions like vehicle availability, local demand and seasonal buying trends, the Kelley Blue Book^® Fair Purchase Price shows shoppers what others have been paying for a new car recently and is included in KBB.com's Price Advisor tool, which provides range-based market pricing. 

"This year's list of budget-smart cool cars includes a repeat winner, an all-new Jeep and a few cars that have been completely redesigned for 2015. All of them are fun, stylish and versatile to varying degrees, and each and every one is enticingly affordable," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. "Still riding high on the strength of a well-received redesign for 2014, the 2015 Mazda3, which could be called the reigning king of the Coolest Cars Under $18,000, claims its spot at the top of our annual list for the second year in a row." 

KBB.com's 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000 of 2015

To see KBB.com's full editorial commentary for the 10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000 of 2015, including notable tech and style features, pricing information, vehicle photography and more, please visit http://www.kbb.com/car-reviews-and-news/top-10/coolest-cars-under-18000-2015/.

To discuss this topic, or any other automotive-related information, with a Kelley Blue Book analyst on-camera via the company's on-site studio, please contact a member of the Public Relations team to book an interview.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry.  Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new and used cars this week.  The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies.  Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com ranked highest in its category for brand equity by the 2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend^® study and has been named Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year for three consecutive years.  Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive company.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book