The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money awards highlight the cars, SUVs and minivans that provide excellent long-term value and a top-notch ownership experience.
With seven wins for 2026, Kia garnered more awards than any other brand. This is down to the Korean brand’s continued focus on affordability.
K4, was this year’s Best Compact Car for the Money, the Niro (Best Subcompact Hybrid SUV for the Money) and the Sportage Hybrid (Best Compact Hybrid SUV for the Money). Even Kia’s larger winning models, like the Sorento and EV9, are great values for what they are, and all Kias are backed by a lengthy warranty.
Toyota garnered three wins. The Toyota Tacoma returns as our Best Midsize Truck for the Money for a second straight year and seventh win overall. The Toyota Camry is our Best Midsize Hybrid Car for the Money for 2026, and, in recognition that some car shoppers are looking for fun, the Toyota GR86 wins our reintroduced (for the first time since 2017) Best Sports Car for the Money award.
Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Ford notched two wins each.
The Honda Accord returns for its third straight Best Midsize Car for the Money award, while the Honda Odyssey returns for a sixth consecutive win (and 10th overall) as Best Minivan for the Money. The Hyundai Tucson notches its third Best Compact SUV for the Money award in a row, and the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid notches its fifth straight Best Compact Hybrid Car for the Money win. The long record of wins reflects all four of these models’ excellent value propositions.
The recently -redesigned Nissan Murano won our Best 2-Row Midsize SUV award, marking the Murano’s first return to this list since 2019, and the Nissan Kicks won our Best Subcompact SUV for the Money award. Ford’s awards center on the big boys. The Expedition wins our Best Large SUV for the Money award and the F-150 our Best Full-Size Truck for the Money award.
The other two winners reflect the growing diversity of electric and plug-in hybrid models. The Chevrolet Equinox EV wins our first Best Compact Electric SUV for the Money award, while the Mazda CX-90 PHEV wins our first Best Midsize Plug-In Hybrid SUV for the Money award.
Many of these brands also had multiple models that came in as finalists. Hyundai had seven, Toyota four, Chevrolet and Honda three each, Nissan and Mazda two apiece and Kia a single for the Carnival minivan. Volkswagen’s Atlas Cross Sport was the top finalist among Midsize 2-Row SUVs. In most classes, we only award one finalist spot, but the most affordable and largest classes get two.
