Cars.Com USA Today Compact SUV Challenge Picks Honda CR-V as "Best"

SEE ALSO: Honda Release Below.

But First Snide's Remarks: This media event may have been good publicity for the sponsors, but as a meaningful guide for potential buyers it is worthless. The only three fixed criteria; Compact SUV, Under $28,000 and Minimum 26 MPG Combined Highway and City, adds up to trying to compare apples, oranges and grapefruits.

Hey Cars.com your three criteria cannot even help a buyer make an intelligent decision. Without normalizing each vehicles standard specs using the above criteria makes any comparison irrelevant and misleading.

Below is a link to a useful ranked list of CUV's by price ($25-30,000) and actual specs including; Price, AWD, MPG Hwy, MPG Combined and Cargo Space. When used with thought, this tool will empower new car researchers to compare the data for themselves.

But as we here at The Auto Channel have always championed, the most important criteria in a purchase decision can only be learned after a well thought-out and thoroughly conducted test drive. Don't even consider buying any vehicle until you evaluate how each vehicle feels and determine if it meets you own comfort, performance and esoteric criteria...don't believe that everything you read in the newspaper or on the web (except The Auto Channel of course) is correct and said with you in mind. Here is the link to The Auto Channel's "Perfect New Car Match Tool" so you can research and create a "Best For You" short list of considered vehicles for purchase, and then conduct serious Test Drives before you buy.

Auto Central May 26, 2015; Cars.Com the classified website owned by America's largest newspapers sponsored an "SUV Challenge" pitting a limited number of makes and trim level SUVs against each other. Their list included eight compact SUVs models that met their criteria of a cost that is no more than $28,000 including shipping, and had an MPG rating of 26 mpg or better combined. The competitors in this contest were: Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape (although the Ford Escape was to be a participant it was not in the running because the vehicle Ford was to deliver for the contest was listed at $28,045 and not accepted for the fray), GMC Terrain, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4.

The article said that "the entrants were similar, they had different equipment, options, horsepower and driving characteristics" but in spite of these differences USA Today and Cars.com declared that the Honda CR-V was "the Best"; huh?

The Challenge judges were

• Cars.com: Bill Jackson, assistant managing editor; Kelsey Mays, senior editor; Kristin Varela, senior editor

• USA TODAY: Fred Meier, auto editor; Jim Healey, auto writer

• PBS' "MotorWeek": Brian Robinson, producer

$28,000 Compact SUV Challenge Complete Article

2015 Honda CR-V Wins Cars.com/USA Today/“MotorWeek” Compact SUV Challenge

2015 CR-V applauded for its optimal balance of family-friendly features, interior room, excellent visibility and rewarding driving experience

TORRANCE, Calif., May 27, 2015 – The 2015 Honda CR-V, America's most popular SUV for the past decade (automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/), has won the top spot in the Cars.com/USA TODAY/"MotorWeek" Compact SUV Challenge (cars.com/news), with a panel of experts and customers choosing CR-V over six competing models.

"The compact SUV segment is among the most competitive in the industry, and we took nothing for granted with the 2015 CR-V," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "The CR-V has been America's top SUV choice for many years now, and it's great to see that real-world customers and experts from Cars.com, USA TODAY and "MotorWeek" agree that the 2015 CR-V continues to live up to their high expectations."

In winning the competition, the CR-V earned praise for its rewarding driving experience, generous interior room and family-friendly features. The 2015 CR-V features upgrades to styling, performance, fuel efficiency and family-friendly technology.

"The 2015 Honda CR-V came out on top because it provided the best blend of good interior room, excellent visibility and a surprisingly rewarding driving experience," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor-in-chief. "The CR-V was also packed with great family-friendly features like easy-to-fold seats, a low load floor, rear air vents and much more."

The Challenge pitted seven of the most popular compact SUVs against each other in a series of expert and consumer testing, which determined that the 2015 CR-V was overall best-in-class. To qualify for the competition, vehicles had to cost less than $28,000 and achieve a combined city/highway EPA fuel economy rating of at least 26 mpg.

1Honda products are produced using domestic and globally sourced parts.