Vincentric’s Best Value in America awards were announced today, with hybrid vehicles leading the way. The Toyota Prius, along with the hybrid versions of the Ford Escape, the Honda Civic, and the Toyota Highlander each won the Best Value in America award in their segment. Other hybrids receiving Excellent Value ratings are the Mercury Mariner hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Honda Insight.

To determine Vincentric’s Best Value in America, Vincentric analyzed over 1,800 different vehicle configurations and computed the cost to own and operate each vehicle. Eight different cost factors were calculated to determine overall Cost of Ownership: depreciation, fuel, insurance, opportunity cost, financing, maintenance, taxes and state fees, and repairs.

Using a statistical model, the company identified the Best Value in America by measuring which vehicles have a lower than expected ownership cost given their market segment and price. The strong value of hybrids was clear when both a hybrid and non-hybrid version of the same vehicle were compared to other vehicles in the same segments. In those instances, the hybrid version had ownership costs that averaged 16.2% lower than a similarly priced competitor, while the non-hybrid version had ownership costs 7.9% lower.

Including the Prius and Highlander hybrid, Toyota had eleven Best Value in America awards, with Honda also faring well with six winners.

In addition to the annual Best Value in America awards, Vincentric compiles updated results each month to incorporate current fuel prices, manufacturer rebates and incentives, interest rates and residual values.

Winners of Vincentric’s Best Value in America

Passenger Cars and Crossovers

- Compact, over $17,000:  Honda Civic Hybrid
- Compact, under $17,000:  Honda Civic (non-hybrid)
- Convertible, over $39,000:  Chevrolet Corvette
- Convertible, under $39,000:  Toyota Camry Solara
- Large:  Toyota Avalon
- Luxury:  Lexus LS-430
- Mid-Size, over $23,000:  Honda Accord
- Mid-Size, under $23,000:  Toyota Prius
- Near Luxury:  Acura TL
- Crossover, over $28,000:  Nissan Murano
- Crossover, under $28,000: Nissan Murano
- Sports Car, over $37,500:  Chevrolet Corvette
- Sports Car, under $37,500:  Acura RSX
- Subcompact:  Scion xB
- Wagon, over $24,500:  Volvo V70
- Wagon, under $24,500:  Toyota Matrix


SUVs
- Compact SUV, over $22,500:  Ford Escape Hybrid
- Compact SUV, under $22,500:  Honda CR-V
- Large SUV, over $40,500:  Lexus GX-470
- Large SUV, under $40,500:  Toyota Sequoia SR5
- Mid-Size SUV, over $30,000:  Toyota Highlander Hybrid
- Mid-Size SUV, under $30,000:  Toyota Highlander


Pick-Ups
- Compact Pickup, 2WD:  Toyota Tacoma
- Compact Pickup, 4WD:  Toyota Tacoma
- Full Size Pickup, 2WD:  Toyota Tundra
- Full Size Pickup, 4WD:  Toyota Tundra
- Heavy Duty ¾ Ton Pickup, 2WD:  Dodge Ram 2500
- Heavy Duty ¾ Ton Pickup, 4WD:  Dodge Ram 2500
- Heavy Duty 1 Ton Pickup, 2WD:  Ford F-350
- Heavy Duty 1 Ton Pickup, 4WD:  Ford F-350


Vans
- Full Size Passenger Van:  Dodge Sprinter Wagon
- Minivan, over $27,000:  Honda Odyssey
- Minivan, under $27,000:  Honda Odyssey