Recently U.S. News and World Report ranked the worst cars for your money.
In
the story they highlighted five cars based on, "data from the U.S. News
car rankings, which are based on the collective opinion of the
automotive press. This tells us how "good" or "bad" a car is within its
class, according to a large number of critics. We then weigh the
rankings against how much value the car packs in compared to others
within its class."
The six cars they selected as being the worst cars for your money are:
Compact Car: Pontiac G5
Compact Crossover: Suzuki XL7
Full-Size SUV: Jeep Commander
Full Size Pickup: Nissan Titan
Upscale Car: Volvo S60
Sports Car: Mitsubishi Eclipse
You can see the entire list HERE.
As
an intrepid automotive journalist I thought it would be fun to balance
this report with a brief list of three cars that I think are good value
for your hard earned dollar.
1) The Suzuki SX4 Crossover
Suggested Starting Price $15,939
EPA estimated mpg 22 / 30
This is perhaps the smallest AWD car you can purchase in the
America. Many Automotive journalist have been rightfully critical of
the car's poor gas mileage given its diminutive size. But in these
difficult economic times if you want a small Japanese all wheel driver
the SX4 is pretty much the only game in town.
2) The Toyota Prius
Suggested Starting Price $22,00
EPA estimated mpg 48 / 45
The new
Toyota Prius is about to come out but the current model has become an
iconic car like the old VW Beetle. It is almost bulletproof in terms of
reliability offers an interior that in classic Japanese fashion is
bigger on the inside than the outside. Plus I suspect (make that know)
that good deals are to be had on the current car with the new model
just around the bend.
3) Hyundia Genesis 3.8
Suggested Starting Price $32.250
EPA estimated mpg 18 / 27
Think
of this car as the new Lexus. If you want a luxuries car at a fraction
of the cost of the upmarket German and Japaneses brands, the Genesis is
your ride. The car keeps winning almost every car of the year/best car
in show award, and best of all you can still lease one for only $399.
per month like back in the good old days just a few month ago. Plus, if
you do lease one you'll have the best of both worlds in these difficult
times—the luxury standard of some of the best cars in the world with
the Hyundia nameplate when you don't want to seem too ostentatious.
