Ford gets 'best car for bang' award

[cobie56]

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."

Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.

[hotleadsingerguy]

Hmm...not sure I can really believe what they say when they gave the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra the top spots for the two variations of trucks and the FR-S wins the top spot for "Sports Car".

Otherwise I'd say they aren't too far off. Surprised Subaru didn't win far more (they have a model in every category and are rated through the roof), the Fit is the only Honda on the board (considering they had a few models that were rated through the roof), and Ford won at least one in each category *except* trucks (the highest-rated category they sell).

[mmmfloorpie]

Did the Focus win best "bang" for your buck because of the DCT?

[frinesi2]

I would imagine that they were talking about the Focus hatch? I wouldn't call any compact sedan the "best car for bang."

[Joey D]

Originally Posted by hotleadsingerguy

Hmm...not sure I can really believe what they say when they gave the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra the top spots for the two variations of trucks and the FR-S wins the top spot for "Sports Car".

I haven't driven a Tundra or Tacoma in years, but the FR-S is easily deserving of the best bang for the buck sports car. For the price, I can't think of many cars that are as fun and are brand new.

[hotleadsingerguy]

Originally Posted by Joey D

I haven't driven a Tundra or Tacoma in years, but the FR-S is easily deserving of the best bang for the buck sports car. For the price, I can't think of many cars that are as fun and are brand new.

But that still doesn't make it "best bang for your buck". It might be the best sports car for $25k or less, but an argument could be made that a GT-R is more worth the $100k that you'd spend on it than the FR-S is worth the $25k you'd spend on it.

There are plenty of other "sports" cars around that price that are vastly superior. The only thing it has is RWD. There are a *ton* of cars in that range with more BHP and better handling.

[tt333]

Originally Posted by frinesi2

I would imagine that they were talking about the Focus hatch? I wouldn't call any compact sedan the "best car for bang."

Hahah