Kelley Blue Book Names 2016 Best Buy Award Finalists

Premier Awards Honor Best Vehicle Choices Available in U.S. Market, Recognizing 49 Finalists Consisting of 18 Vehicle Makes in 12 Vehicle Categories

IRVINE, CA -- Oct. 13, 2015: Kelley Blue Book today announces the Finalists for the 2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, which will honor the top new model-year vehicle choices available in the U.S. market. These finalists undergo head-to-head comparison testing and evaluation by KBB.com's editorial team, and ultimately the winners in each category and an overall winner will be announced in November.

The Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards is a premier awards program designed to provide a significant service to American new-car buyers by identifying the cream of the crop of all available 2016 model-year vehicles. The finalist models are chosen on a set of criteria that identify overall vehicle quality and value, based both on proprietary Kelley Blue Book metrics and the expert evaluations of the KBB.com editorial staff. 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.

"At Kelley Blue Book, everything we do is designed to help car shoppers make smart decisions, and the Best Buy Awards program is the culmination of a wide variety of data and expert vehicle evaluation efforts throughout the company," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. "While at the conclusion of the testing and evaluation period only 12 prestigious models will be deemed 2016 winners, it is a very high honor for a vehicle to be chosen as a finalist for these prominent awards. The automakers represented among this year's finalists offer car buyers with top-notch vehicle choices."

Of more than 300 new-car models available for 2016, Kelley Blue Book's expert editors have narrowed the field to a total of 49 Best Buy Award Finalists that include 18 vehicle makes across 12 major vehicle categories. At the conclusion of the test-evaluation regimen, winners will be named a Kelley Blue Book Best Buy in each of the 12 categories, along with an overall Best Buy of 2016 winner.

2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Finalists