Looking Back: 13 Years of Best Cars for the Money

13 Years of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Cars for the Money

For 13 years, the U.S. News & World Report Best Cars for the Money awards have strived to reward vehicles that aren’t just excellent values when you drive them off the dealer’s lot, but have what it takes to provide years of low-cost, trouble-free service.

Our researchers go beyond simply finding the cheapest cars, knowing that an inexpensive vehicle that’s poorly built can cost you more in the long run than a well-crafted, reliable model. To determine a vehicle’s value proposition, reliability, and quality, we use data from our new car rankings and reviews, ownership costs from automotive research firm Vincentric, and transaction prices from our U.S. News Best Price Program partners at TrueCar.

We’ll look back on our 13 years of Best Cars for the Money awards on the following pages. The most recent models are still available for lease or purchase as new cars. Others from the last few years can often be found as certified pre-owned cars with manufacturer’s warranties.