U.S. News Best Cars Announces the 2015 Best Cars for the Money

12 brands win awards across 21 categories; Honda brands win most awards

WASHINGTON -- Feb. 11, 2015: U.S. News & World Report, a nationally recognized publisher of consumer advice and information, today announced the 2015 Best Cars for the Money award winners, featured at Best Cars for the Money. The awards highlight a single vehicle in 21 automotive categories that provides the best combination of quality and value.

"With new cars selling at record prices, shopping for a car that meets both your budget and lifestyle is an overwhelming process," says Jamie Page Deaton, managing editor of U.S. News Best Cars. "The 2015 Best Cars for the Money awards help car shoppers quickly identify models that are great values and a pleasure to own."

American Honda Motor Company, with both its Honda and Acura brands winning three awards each, takes home the most awards of any automaker. "In recent years, Honda has focused on providing more standard features in its Honda products and sportier performance for Acura models," says Page Deaton. "That focus has resulted in more praise from professional car critics. Consumers now have more reasons beyond value to buy a Honda or Acura."

The Lexus RX 350 SUV wins its seventh consecutive Best Car for the Money award, earning the longest winning streak in the history of the awards.

While award winners have been more evenly split between domestic and import automakers in prior years, domestic brands take home only three awards compared to 18 wins by import brands in 2015.

2015 BEST CARS FOR THE MONEY

For the full set of winners and finalists, visit Best Cars for the Money.

The Best Cars for the Money methodology combines quality and value data into a composite score. Within each of the 21 categories, the vehicle with the highest score is named the Best Car for the Money in that category. Quality is measured by the overall score a vehicle achieved in the U.S. News car rankings at the time the awards are published.