The 21 Best Cars for the Money

The 2014 Ford Fiesta was one of U.S. News' Best Cars for the Money this year.

With and more cars, trucks and crossovers flooding the market each year it seems like buyers have an almost endless list of choices. And today’s cars are increasingly well-equipped, with even base models adding air conditioning, satellite radio, keyless entry and electronic stability control – features that would’ve been available only on more upscale products a few years back.

But while there are plenty of great cars they aren’t always a great deal. So, the editors at U.S. News set out to find the new models that are not only feature-laden but also are both critically well-reviewed and offer a great value for the money. They’ve come up with a list of 21 that qualify as the Best Cars for the Money among 2014 models.

“Finding a great car that’s also a great deal is a challenge,” said Jamie Page Deaton, managing editor of U.S. News Best Cars. “Our awards are designed to help consumers identify great value cars that have also received critical acclaim and high safety and reliability scores. A good value car doesn’t have to be boring – cars with the latest features, great performance and comfortable interiors can also be smart financial choices.”

Foreign-owned brands dominated the list this year, accounting for 13 of the 21 models on the Best Cars list. That included five from Toyota and its Lexus and Scion brands, such as the midsize Toyota Camry sedan, Lexus RX Hybrid and Scion FR-S sports car.

Ford, meanwhile, took home the most awards of any domestic automaker, a total of four, including the Fiesta subcompact and two-row Edge crossover.

Honda and its upscale Acura brand, meanwhile, collected three awards for such models as the Honda CR-V and Acura MDX crossovers. Chevrolet also earned three segment awards, while Mazda and Volkswagen garnered two each. Other brands in the winner’s circle were Hyundai and Chrysler’s Ram pickup.

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U.S. News considered a total of 225 models for this year’s Best Cars awards. Among the factors taken account were initial purchase price, estimated five-year cost of ownership and quality.

(Click Here to read about how automotive dependability tumbled this year.)

The study was released the same day that a separate report by consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates found an unexpected dip in automotive dependability, the first decline, in fact, over the last 15 years. The annual Vehicle Dependability Study measured the number of problems experienced by owners of three-year-old vehicles – those produced during the 2011 model-year.

(To see how slow sales could spark an incentive war, Click Here.)

The complete list of winners in this year’s Best Cars for the Money study: