These cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans and EVs are best buys for 2023

Plus: Ford is now making this off-roader just for those who want to live that #vanlife

Subcompact luxury SUV

2023 BMW X1

With bold looks, great tech, and a grown-up personality, the all-new BMW X1 is a first-time member of the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award club. 

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Luxury car

2023 Lexus ES

The Lexus ES checks all the right boxes for a luxury vehicle and goes even further with a stellar value proposition and rock-solid reliability. 

About the Best Buy awards

Finding the right vehicle to meet your needs is a daunting task in a market with plenty of choices and stiff competition among automakers. That’s where Kelley Blue Book steps in to make that major purchase both as well-informed and as easy as possible. It’s in that spirit that we present our annual Best Buy Awards. For nine years, our experienced vehicle review staff has put the latest vehicles through their paces to determine which models are tops in their segments. We look for those vehicles delivering the best blend of performance, capability, low operating costs, affordability, and overall appeal.

Whatever your transportation needs, the Best Buy Award program includes categories representing the wide range of vehicles available today, from gas-powered compact SUVs to all-electric trucks.

As the market evolves, so do we

This year we added two new award categories reflecting the growing number and variety of electric vehicles on the market and rapidly increasing EV sales. In addition to spotlighting the Best Electric Vehicle, this year’s Best Buy Awards introduce the Best Electric Vehicle Under $35,000 and Best Electric Truck awards.

Even as the vehicles under our consideration continue to evolve, what doesn’t change are the criteria Kelley Blue Book editors rely on to help determine which models are eligible for consideration and, ultimately, the awards themselves. At the top of our list are vehicles that combine affordability, dependability, reliability, and low ownership and operating costs. These attributes go hand-in-hand with vehicles offering comfort, convenience, the latest in high-tech driver and safety assists, intuitive infotainment, and, at the same time, are satisfying to drive.

Methodology

Much of the initial information needed to qualify and evaluate vehicles for KBB’s annual Best Buy program comes from the vehicles driven, evaluated, and reviewed by the Kelley Blue Book vehicle review staff throughout the year.

This extensive hands-on experience with new vehicles provides the basis for our written and video reviews, including the vehicle ratings driving our Best Cars rankings. Based on this coverage and data gleaned from our proprietary resale value insights and 5-Year Cost to Own data, we determine which all-new or extensively redesigned vehicles we will consider as Best Buy candidates.

The list of participating vehicles is finalized during the summer, with testing at KBB’s Irvine, California, headquarters starting in September. The current category winner is tested side-by-side against the crop of the latest challengers. We evaluate seating comfort, ease of entry and exit, luggage space, amenities, and infotainment systems.

In addition, we look closely at build quality, cabin materials, and pricing against the competition and expected resale value and operating costs. We also get behind the wheel and test drive the vehicles over a series of loops involving everyday traffic and road conditions to experience the cars as an owner would. A manufacturer’s reputation for quality, reliability, durability, and various warranties, including bumper-to-bumper and powertrain, also factor in our decision.

For 2023, the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards go to the best in categories that encompass nearly the entire range of vehicles that meet virtually all automotive needs. We also recognize the Best New Model for 2023. Our awards are a powerful tool to help you make the right new vehicle choice.