Best values

Small cars and family cars provide the most bang for the buck

A low purchase price doesn't mean that a car is a good value. When comparing economy cars, for example, you might think that the Chevrolet Aveo and Honda Fit, each priced at about $16,000, would provide the same overall value down the road. But according to Consumer Reports' new value scores, the Fit is a far better choice. In fact, it ties the Toyota Prius as the top value among the more than 280 vehicles included in our analysis.

On the other hand, the Aveo is among the worst values in its class, far below even more expensive models such as the Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic.

Our value scores show which models offer the best combination of performance, utility, and reliability for the money, considering total owner costs over the first five years—in other words, which give you the most for your dollar.

Besides the Fit, Prius, Golf, and Civic, other models in the top 10 are the VW Jetta TDI, Hyundai Elantra SE, Toyota Corolla and Camry (four-cylinder), Subaru Forester, and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

At the other extreme, the Jeep Wrangler and the Hummer H3 are among the worst values of the vehicles we've tested.