Prius ranked best new-car value by Consumer Reports

WASHINGTON – When it comes to cars, Consumer Reports ranks the Toyota Prius the best new-car value.

This is the second year in a row the hybrid has received the magazine’s top spot, previously held by the Honda Fit for four years. The Fit came in second.

“The Prius is extremely economical, averaging 44 mpg overall, and 55 mpg on the highway in our tests,” the magazine says.

While the Prius costs between $24,200 and $34,905, Consumer Reports Automotive Editor Rik Paul said in a statement that “the Prius’ depreciation is so low that it costs less to own over the first five years than its initial (price). We call that a bargain.”

While the Prius costs about 47 cents per mile to operate, the worst-value car, the Nissan Armada, costs about $1.20 per mile and gets 13 mpg.

In putting together its rankings, Consumer Reports looked at a vehicle’s performance, utility and reliability over a five-year period.

Toyota also took the top spot for large cars with the Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited scoring the highest. Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, ranked first among luxury cards. Consumer Reports named the Lexus ES 300h the top luxury car.

Vehicles from Subaru and Mazda also did well overall.

Consumer Reports finds the Chevrolet Sonic LT at $18,290 to be one of the most reliable vehicles under $25,000. Also ranking well in that category are several Honda models, including the Honda Accord LX and the Honda Civic EX.

Best Worst
Toyota Prius Four Nissan Armada Platinum
Honda Fit (base) BMW 750Li
Scion xB Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium Cadillac Escalade (base)
Volkswagen Golf (2.5) Cadillac XTS Premium
Toyota Corolla LE Plus Lincoln MKX (3.7)
Volkswagen Golf TDI (manual) Lincoln MKS (base, 3.7)
Honda Civic EX Ford Explorer XLT (V6)
Honda Civic Hybrid Ford F-250 Lariat (6.7L, V8)
Subaru Impreza Premium Nissan Pathfinder

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