Kelley Blue Book Announces Winners Of 2017 Best Buy Awards; Honda Civic Repeats Win As Overall Best Buy Of The Year

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today announces the winners of the 2017 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, honoring the top new model-year vehicle choices available in the U.S. market.  The 2017 Honda Civic is named Kelley Blue Book's Overall Best Buy of 2017, alongside Best Buy Award winners in 12 major vehicle categories.

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The Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards are designed to provide a significant service to new-car buyers by identifying the cream of the crop of all available 2017 model-year vehicles.  The awards are the culmination of a year-long regimen of expert vehicle evaluation and testing of nearly every new vehicle available in America, along with analysis of a broad swath of vehicle-related data, including vehicle pricing/transaction prices, 5-Year Cost to Own data (which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars), consumer reviews and ratings, and vehicle sales/retail sales information.  Of more than 300 new-car models available for 2017, Kelley Blue Book's expert editors initially narrowed the field to a few dozen Best Buy Award contenders in 12 major vehicle categories and then spent several weeks testing and evaluating all of the finalists head-to-head to ultimately determine the winners.

"After carefully analyzing a wealth of data and conducting extensive vehicle testing and evaluation from the hundreds of models available for the 2017 model-year, we chose this elite group of 12 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award winners because they proved to be the top in their class this year," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com.  "Kelley Blue Book editors went to the unprecedented choice of honoring the Honda Civic as the Overall Best Buy for the second year in a row because of the Civic's unsurpassed all-around value.  It turns in very high marks in objective measures like resale value and cost to own, yet it also is a supremely satisfying car to drive and live with every day.  We believe the 2017 Civic is an exceptional value and remains the Overall Best Buy for the second year running."

2017 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Winners

Overall Winner: 2017 Honda Civic
Today's compact cars are roomier, safer, more comfortable and tech-savvier than ever, and the recently redesigned Honda Civic is the undisputed king of the category.  Boldly styled, famously refined, supremely efficient, satisfying to drive, comfortable and loaded with appealing features, the Honda Civic is the first vehicle to be named our Overall Best Buy two years in a row.

Small Car: 2017 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic's current run of Best Buy recognition spans two generations and now three model years.  Last year's redesign earned it both a Best Buy Award and the top spot on our list of favorite new cars of the year, and it remains just as impressive and dominant in its second model year.

Mid-Size Car: 2017 Honda Accord
Honda's famously dependable mid-size sedan is a resale value standout, keeping overall ownership costs low.  But the Accord also is satisfying to drive and thoroughly refined, qualifying it as a well-rounded package and earning it a second Best Buy Award.

Full-Size Car: 2017 Chevrolet Impala
The Chevy Impala remains as roomy, comfortable and value-oriented as you might expect.  But it's also a design and tech standout, mixing stylish sheetmetal with an attractive interior and an impressive list of in-car technologies including Apple CarPlay and wireless phone charging.  A strong combination of purchase price and resale value help it win its third Best Buy Award in as many years.

Luxury Car: 2017 Audi A4
The totally redesigned Audi A4 claims this year's Luxury Car Best Buy title with an elevated mix of tastefully modern exterior and interior styling, advanced but friendly technologies, excellent driving dynamics and lower overall ownership costs than some key competitors.

Sports/Performance Car: 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster
With a newfound emphasis on fuel economy, connectivity and everyday usability, the revamped 2017 Porsche 718 Boxster has effectively broadened its appeal while retaining the world-class dynamism for which the nameplate is renowned.

Electric/Hybrid: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime
The Prius lineup expands again for 2017, this time with a distinctly styled and outfitted plug-in model that delivers 25 miles of pure electric range, 640 miles of total full-charge/full-tank range, and a 133 MPGe rating that's the highest of any electric car of any sort currently available.  Combined with the lineup's well-documented history of reliability and low ownership costs, the Toyota Prius Prime wins our Electric/Hybrid Best Buy of 2017.

Small SUV/Crossover: 2017 Kia Sportage
Kia's class-leading warranty coverage remains, but everything else about the Kia Sportage is all-new for 2017.  Its Best Buy Award-winning strengths include the bold face and sleek rear end, attractive and functional cockpit, roomy rear seat and practical cargo area.

Mid-Size SUV/Crossover: 2017 Honda Pilot
Fresh off a complete redesign last year, the newest Honda Pilot has it all – including its second Best Buy trophy.  It's not only the roomiest and most practical SUV in the segment, it's also comfortable, pleasant to drive and loaded with features that serve drivers and passengers alike.

Full-Size SUV/Crossover: 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe
Offering a combination of style, comfort, economy and value that's positively unmatched in market appeal, the Chevy Tahoe is the best-selling SUV in the segment and now a back-to-back-to-back Kelley Blue Book Best Buy for the third year running.

Luxury SUV/Crossover: 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC
One vehicle at a time, Mercedes-Benz continues to build its most appealing lineup in years.  The exterior designs are intrinsically appealing, while the interiors are as rich as ever but far more contemporary and desirable.  Class-leading safety and convenience technologies also are part of the story, as is the persistent prestige of the three-pointed star.  The GLC embodies every bit of the automaker's rediscovered style and swagger.

Truck: 2017 Ford F-150
Radically redesigned with an aluminum-intensive architecture two years ago, the Ford F-150 has been named our Pickup Truck Best Buy ever since.  Beneath the groundbreaking construction are a variety of advanced engines and transmissions, and a long list of clever features and appealing technologies.  This year it adds one more trophy to its growing collection with its third consecutive Best Buy Award.

Minivan: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica
Chrysler's all-new Pacifica minivan doesn't just replace the long-running Town & Country, it blends luxury and practicality like no other minivan before it.  Luxury-level dash design up front is complemented by rear quarters that offer all the utility you expect in a minivan, but with uncommon design sensibilities.  It's also a pleasure to drive, helping it lock up a Best Buy Award in its first year on the market.

"Vehicles in all segments are becoming better-equipped with more safety and tech features every year, so the competition is stiff for which models will take home a prestigious Best Buy Award," Nerad said.  "Kelley Blue Book Best Buys represent the highest level of quality and value of all vehicles available in the American market.  With 90 years of trust in providing the auto industry with data and several decades of providing car shoppers with valuable information, Kelley Blue Book takes great pride in providing a significant consumer service by identifying the new vehicles that our experts believe to be the absolute best-value choices for new-car shoppers."

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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