IntelliChoice and AutoPacific have announced their annual Motorist Choice Awards, which highlights vehicles that offer high customer satisfaction ratings along with low costs of ownership. Beyond the purchase price, ownership costs also take into account things like car maintenance and auto repair costs.
"Each year, we appreciate the opportunity to partner with AutoPacific to perform this research and analysis," said Tyler Schulze, vice president and general manager of IntelliChoice. "The Motorist Choice Award methodology is designed to help consumers identify vehicles that speak to their hearts and their wallets."
Overall, Ford was the big winner this year, picking up six awards. Half of those were earned by the Ford Expedition alone, which was recognized in the "Cargo Hauler," "People Mover" and "Road Trip" categories. The Lincoln MKZ and Navigator were also recognized, along with the hybrid version of the Ford Fusion.
Toyota fell off a bit compared to last year, when it took home nine awards, but still managed to come away with five. The Scion brand won for the xD and tC, while the Lexus IS and HS also received praise. The Toyota Sienna was chosen as a great kid-friendly model.
Other new cars that were singled out as good buys by the automotive research firms were the Hyundai Elantra, Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Touareg, Volvo XC70 and Cadillac Escalade.