Kelley Blue Book Announces 2017 Best Auto Tech Award Winners

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Where driving dynamics, comfort and safety are concerned, modern vehicles are steadily marching down a path toward parity.  As such, technology has blossomed into one of the last great differentiators amongst competing models, and consumers agree.  According to a recent Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch™ study, in-car technology is as much of a priority to most car buyers as exterior styling and fuel efficiency.  To help car shoppers identify the models with the best use of in-car technology, Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today announces its 2017 Best Auto Tech Award winners, honoring the vehicles with the most advanced infotainment, convenience and active safety features at a great value to car buyers. 

Announced on the eve of the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, this year's Best Auto Tech Awards are divided into two distinct categories: a mainstream set emphasizing the highest degree of tech-for-dollar, and a luxury car category honoring the most innovative-yet-useful technology currently available. 

"Though many cars today offer loads of cutting-edge technology at increasingly attainable prices, one critically important measure helped catapult the Honda Civic and Mercedes-Benz E-Class into their respective winner's circles: execution," said Zach Vlasuk, senior associate editor for Kelley Blue Book.  "The systems featured in both models delivered on their promise of enhancing the driving experience and safety quotient without adding complexity.  And when distilled down to its essence, that's what in-vehicle tech is all about."

Kelley Blue Book's perennial Best Buy Award winner, the 2017 Honda Civic, also happens to be a technological powerhouse.  Wrapped in a value-intensive, fun-to-drive package is a compact car laden with advanced features once reserved for vehicles costing three times as much.  Aside from more conventional equipment like a moon roof, automatic transmission, cap-less fuel filler, and automatic climate control – all for just under $23,000, including destination fees –  the Honda Civic EX fitted with Honda Sensing includes intelligent gadgetry like passive entry with push-button start, automatic headlight control, an electronic parking brake with an auto hold feature that holds the brakes for you at stoplights, a fully digital driver information display, a multi-angle backup camera and an eight-speaker audio system tied to a quick-witted seven-inch capacitive touchscreen infotainment center with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration.  In addition, active safety comes in the form of Honda's exclusive Lane Watch system. 

"It's hard to imagine that one of the most recommendable cars in the industry also happens to offer the latest infotainment, convenience, and safety technology at a remarkably affordable price," said Vlasuk.  "Honda made it so with the 2017 Civic, thus earning it a Best Auto Tech award in the area of value."

On the luxury side, state-of-the-art features are typically reserved for large luxury flagships, but the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class proves you don't need a bloated luxury barge to enjoy the latest and greatest automotive technology.  Better yet, many of its tech features can be had for under $73,000, undercutting similarly equipped full-size luxury sedans by tens of thousands of dollars.  Plus, the E-Class includes some content not available in any other car on the road today, such as touch and swipe steering wheel controls, seat side bolsters that quickly inflate in the event of a side impact to move you further away from the intrusion and Active Emergency Stop Assist that brings the car to a stop in its lane and switches on the emergency flashers if you become unresponsive behind the wheel.

The technological centerpiece is undoubtedly the floating instrument cluster housing, which contains two high-resolution 12.3-inch widescreen displays mounted beneath a single pane of glass.  The sheer amount of this technology could be overwhelming in itself, but the E-Class incorporates it in such a way that even the most technophobic drivers will find themselves using – and in time relying on – these well-thought-out systems on a daily basis.

For more information about the 2017 Kelley Blue Book Best Auto Tech Awards, please visit https://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/best-auto-tech-awards/2000012788/.

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 schedule an interview.

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About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the 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 2016 Harris Poll EquiTrend^® study and has been named Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year for five consecutive years.  Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader^®, Dealer.com^®, Dealertrack^®, Kelley Blue Book^®, Manheim^®, NextGear Capital^®, vAuto^®, Xtime^® and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book