Are you a savvy shopper who also likes smart shortcuts? You’ve come to the right place. The ninth annual Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards highlight the singular cars, trucks, and SUVs we recommend and endorse for the most shoppers across a variety of vehicle segments.
Every year we spend thousands of hours driving and researching hundreds of cars, and our Best Buy Awards are the purest distillation of those efforts. Our awards span a wide range of sizes and prices. We give extra weight to financial considerations like expected resale value and historical reliability. Our goal, as always, is to make it easy for you to shop like an expert.
In other words, buy one of these if you need to buy a car today.
Best new model
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5
The Hyundai Ioniq 5
hyundai
With more than 300 miles of range and a spacious, tech-filled interior, the Hyundai
HYMTF,
Ioniq 5 makes it easy to go all-electric.
Best in class
Subcompact SUV
2023 Kia Seltos
The 2023 Kia Seltos: Pricing starts at $23,140, plus destination fee.
Kia
A low starting price, a long list of standard tech and safety features, and impressive fuel economy make the Kia
000270,
Seltos a terrific value.
Check out: The cars, trucks and SUVs with the best resale value
Compact SUV
2023 Honda CR-V
The 2023 Honda CRV: Priced from $31,110
Honda
In addition to a proven history of reliability, excellent resale value, and an inviting interior, the new CR-V is efficient and downright pleasant.
2-row midsize SUV
2023 Hyundai Santa Fe
The Hyundai Santa Fe starts at $28,200
Hyundai
The Hyundai Santa Fe makes its mark with solid fuel economy, good driving dynamics, and a premium feel inside and out.
3-row midsize SUV
2023 Kia Telluride
The 2023 Kia Telluride starts at $35,690.
Kia
The roomy, upscale Telluride is practical, with a stacked roster of standard safety features and convenience equipment — and it’s an excellent value.
Full-size SUV
2023 Ford Expedition
The Ford Expedition starts at $55,125.
Ford
The Ford
F,
Expedition offers an impressive combination of capability, comfort, refinement, and tech.
Plus: Ford is now making this off-roader just for those who want to live that #vanlife
Subcompact luxury SUV
2023 BMW X1
The 2023 BMW X1 starts at $39,100.
BMW
With bold looks, great tech, and a grown-up personality, the all-new BMW X1 is a first-time member of the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award club.
Also read: What California’s ban on gas cars could mean for you—even if you don’t live there
Compact luxury SUV
2023 Genesis GV70
The Genesis GV70 is priced from $42,900.
Genesis
The Genesis GV70’s enticing good looks and feature-rich equipment offerings are alluring, but the GV70’s value story turns just as many heads.
Midsize luxury SUV
2023 Genesis GV80
The Genesis GV80 has a roomy, luxurious interior, engaging drive quality, excellent safety ratings, and a class-leading warranty.
Compact car
2023 Honda Civic
The Honda Civic starts at $24,650.
Honda
The Honda
HMC,
Civic is a joy to drive. It’s a worry-free mode of transport that won’t bust the budget. And the Civic holds its value exceptionally well.
Don’t miss: This is now the cheapest new car in America, and one of a vanishing species
Luxury car
2023 Lexus ES
The Lexus ES starts at $41,340.
Lexus
The Lexus ES checks all the right boxes for a luxury vehicle and goes even further with a stellar value proposition and rock-solid reliability.
Electric vehicle under $35,000
2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
The Chevrolet Bolt EUV starts at $27,200.
Chevrolet
The Chevy Bolt EUV has a roomy back seat, excellent build quality, a great price, and an impressive range.
Electric vehicle
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5
Its retro styling turns heads, but the 303-mile range, easy-to-use tech, and spacious interior at a reasonable price make the Ioniq 5 a Best Buy.
Read: 5 reasons you should hold off on buying an EV
Plug-in hybrid vehicle
2023 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid
The 2023 Kia Sportage plug -n hybrid starts at $38,490.
Kia
With 34 miles of all-electric range and 84 MPGe, you can enjoy driving the all-new Kia Sportage PHEV in comfort while only occasionally having to stop for gas.
Also see: 2.1 million EVs and plug-in hybrids on U.S. roads, and here’s how much gas they’ve saved
Compact pickup truck
2023 Ford Maverick
The Ford Maverick starts at $22,195.
Ford
The versatile Ford Maverick nets nearly 500 miles of range, can carry 1,500 pounds of payload, and can tow up to 4,000 pounds.
Read: Americans’ love affair with pickup trucks might be derailing their retirement plans
Midsize pickup truck
2023 Toyota Tacoma
The Toyota Tacoma starts at $27,250.
Toyota
The Tacoma has Toyota-tough durability, a wide range of combinations, and excellent off-road prowess.
Full-size pickup truck
2023 Ford F-150
The Ford F-150 starts at $33,695.
Ford
From a basic work truck to an opulent people mover, Ford offers an F-150 to do the job. And the F-150 excels when towing and hauling.
Electric truck
2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $51,974.
Ford
The Ford F-150 Lightning has an impressive range and advanced tech. It can tow up to 10,000 pounds and has a 2,000-pound payload capacity.
Minivan
2023 Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna starts at $35,385.
Toyota
The Toyota
TM,
Sienna has a roomy, family-friendly interior. The hybrid powertrain gives it low fuel costs. And it also boasts outstanding safety and reliability.
About the Best Buy awards
Finding the right vehicle to meet your needs is a daunting task in a market with plenty of choices and stiff competition among automakers. That’s where Kelley Blue Book steps in to make that major purchase both as well-informed and as easy as possible. It’s in that spirit that we present our annual Best Buy Awards. For nine years, our experienced vehicle review staff has put the latest vehicles through their paces to determine which models are tops in their segments. We look for those vehicles delivering the best blend of performance, capability, low operating costs, affordability, and overall appeal.
Whatever your transportation needs, the Best Buy Award program includes categories representing the wide range of vehicles available today, from gas-powered compact SUVs to all-electric trucks.
As the market evolves, so do we
This year we added two new award categories reflecting the growing number and variety of electric vehicles on the market and rapidly increasing EV sales. In addition to spotlighting the Best Electric Vehicle, this year’s Best Buy Awards introduce the Best Electric Vehicle Under $35,000 and Best Electric Truck awards.
Even as the vehicles under our consideration continue to evolve, what doesn’t change are the criteria Kelley Blue Book editors rely on to help determine which models are eligible for consideration and, ultimately, the awards themselves. At the top of our list are vehicles that combine affordability, dependability, reliability, and low ownership and operating costs. These attributes go hand-in-hand with vehicles offering comfort, convenience, the latest in high-tech driver and safety assists, intuitive infotainment, and, at the same time, are satisfying to drive.
Methodology
Much of the initial information needed to qualify and evaluate vehicles for KBB’s annual Best Buy program comes from the vehicles driven, evaluated, and reviewed by the Kelley Blue Book vehicle review staff throughout the year.
This extensive hands-on experience with new vehicles provides the basis for our written and video reviews, including the vehicle ratings driving our Best Cars rankings. Based on this coverage and data gleaned from our proprietary resale value insights and 5-Year Cost to Own data, we determine which all-new or extensively redesigned vehicles we will consider as Best Buy candidates.
The list of participating vehicles is finalized during the summer, with testing at KBB’s Irvine, California, headquarters starting in September. The current category winner is tested side-by-side against the crop of the latest challengers. We evaluate seating comfort, ease of entry and exit, luggage space, amenities, and infotainment systems.
In addition, we look closely at build quality, cabin materials, and pricing against the competition and expected resale value and operating costs. We also get behind the wheel and test drive the vehicles over a series of loops involving everyday traffic and road conditions to experience the cars as an owner would. A manufacturer’s reputation for quality, reliability, durability, and various warranties, including bumper-to-bumper and powertrain, also factor in our decision.
For 2023, the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards go to the best in categories that encompass nearly the entire range of vehicles that meet virtually all automotive needs. We also recognize the Best New Model for 2023. Our awards are a powerful tool to help you make the right new vehicle choice.
This story originally ran on KBB.com.
