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Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Affordable Excellence: Hyundai Santa Fe Named Best Car of 2025 by Cars.com
This year's awards showcase exceptional vehicles across six categories, including the rugged Toyota Land Cruiser, innovative Kia EV9, luxurious Genesis Electrified GV70, versatile Hyundai Palisade and reimagined Ram 1500 CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. (NYSE: CARS) (d/b/a "Cars Commerce Inc."), an audience-driven technology company powering automotive, today announced the winners of its annual Best Of Awards, which honor top-rated vehicles in six categories: Best Family Car, Best Luxury Car, Best SUV, Best Electric Vehicle, Best Pickup Truck and the highest recognition: Best Car of the Year. From an evaluation pool of more than 40 all-new and redesigned vehicles, this year's coveted Best Car of 2025 winner is the Hyundai Santa Fe. "In today's competitive and rapidly evolving automotive landscape, the Hyundai Santa Fe stands out in the mid-size SUV class," said Mike Hanley, senior road test editor. "Starting at less than $36,000, the Santa Fe has plenty of room for both occupants and cargo with standard three-row seating and an expansive and functional cargo area. An ultraviolet-light sanitizing compartment, rear-facing center console drawer and dual wireless phone chargers are just some of the available features that meet the needs of today's shopper and bring unique value to the Santa Fe." Available with either a gas or gas-electric hybrid powertrain, the Santa Fe levels up with spacious accommodations after a radical redesign in 2024. The Best of 2025 award winners include: Best Family Car: 2025 Hyundai Palisade. A six-year favorite that hits all the marks. Top of mind in a family vehicle is safety and space, and the Palisade delivers standard safety features like automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure steering assist and more along with a roomy interior that accommodates child-safety seats well. All this comes at a sub-$40,000 starting price for a three-row SUV that was also a repeat winner in latest 3-Row SUV Challenge. Best Electric Vehicle: 2025 Kia EV9. A pioneer in balancing range, comfort, usability and space. The EV9 is a well-rounded three-row electric SUV with an excellent blend of efficiency, intuitive controls and fast-charging speeds. With standard driver-assistance features like forward collision warning and a hands-on semi-autonomous driving system as well as a roomy interior and excellent range, the EV9 is a great choice for families considering an EV. Best SUV: 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser. Not your father's Land Cruiser. Nimble, capable and comfortable, the 2025 Land Cruiser is a reimagined SUV that's pleasant to drive on the street while still possessing considerable off-road capability. Best Pickup Truck: 2025 Ram 1500. Transformative. Ram took a risk replacing the fan-favorite Hemi V-8 engine in its 1500 full-size pickup, but it paid off in spades as the newly available twin-turbo inline-six engine provides smoother, quieter performance while delivering more power than the old V-8. This year's model also continues Ram's tradition of offering top-notch interiors, from the solid, well-constructed base variant to the peerless Tungsten trim. Best Luxury Car: 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70. Riding the fine silk thread between elegance and sporting. The Electrified GV70 takes opulence to the next level with high-quality materials for a luxurious cabin environment that's paired with an exceptional driving experience. With all of this and features like a Road Preview adaptive suspension and 429 horsepower, it's no surprise the Electrified GV70 is a repeat winner of Best Luxury Car award. Award Methodology Best of 2025 award winners are chosen by a team of seven editors who drive and evaluate new vehicles throughout the year. Each of the six awards has its own watchwords that guide both the nomination and voting process, and editors must have driven a vehicle for it to be considered for an award. For each award category, an initial list of nominees is winnowed through rounds of voting to select the winner. To find out more about the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, why it's named Best Car of 2025 and to see other winners, visit ABOUT is the No. 1 most recognized automotive marketplace visited by nearly 30 million in-market consumers each month. Launched in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive retailers. is the flagship offering from Inc. d/b/a Cars Commerce Inc., an audience-driven technology company empowering automotive that simplifies everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Inc.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
4 Best 2025 Hybrid Cars for People on a Frugal Budget
Though electric vehicles are all the rage these days, they're not always the ideal choice for consumers. Not only do they require more planning and strategy — given that you need to charge them regularly, which can be challenging when embarking on long road trips — they're also typically much more expensive than traditional cars, which makes owning them quite difficult for people on a tight budget. Discover More: Read Next: 4 Low-Risk Ways To Build Your Savings in 2025 Perhaps you can have the best of both worlds: a hybrid car, which uses both electronic technology and gas. They sport far better fuel economy than traditional cars and are more eco-friendly, too. But there are so many hybrid cars on the market these days, which can make it difficult for you to determine which ones are the best for your budget. Fortunately, Mike Hanley, a senior road test editor at took the time to chat with GOBankingRates to lay out which are the best hybrid cars for people on frugal budgets. Estimated MSRP: $28,385 to $42,185 Kia has a great reputation, and this specific model has a rating of 8.5 out of 10 from Car and Driver. The new 2025 plug-in-hybrid version boasts extra power and a unique design. It is a good, well-equipped, small SUV that is best for those looking for fuel efficiency without the need for speed. Hanley — and at large — is really digging the Kia Niro Hybrid. 'Redesigned last year, the Kia Niro Hybrid won Best Car of 2023 award thanks to its compelling combination of style, efficiency, utility and value,' Hanley said. 'With EPA-estimated gas mileage as high as 53 mpg combined and added practicality, courtesy of its hatchback body style, the Niro Hybrid offers a lot of practicality at a starting price of around $28,000, including destination.' Consider This: Estimated MSRP: $27,990 to $42,190 The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid is an excellent choice if you're looking for a pickup truck that can do 'a little work when you need it to, gets good gas mileage and doesn't cost a ton,' Hanley said. Car and Driver gave it a rating of 10 out of 10 due to its 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid powertrain with optional all-wheel drive which increases the max towing capacity to 4000 pounds. All 2025 Maverick models come with a larger 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Estimated MSRP: $36,045 to $42,495 Although it comes in at a higher price point than other hybrid electric vehicles, it makes up for it by improving the fuel economy of your gas budget. CR-V Hybrid takes all the perks of the standard CR-V and adds more efficiency with a well-refined hybrid powertrain. Impressive fuel economy ratings, polished hybrid powertrain and a spacious and practical cargo space make this a must-buy for the most frugal of drivers. Estimated MSRP: $29,835 to $37,560 The 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid is an excellent choice for those on a frugal budget who are looking for more wiggle room than the 2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. 'The mid-size Camry Hybrid has more space for people and cargo,' Hanley said. Often, larger vehicles aren't considered fuel-efficient cars. That's not the case with this one. 'Even though it's a bigger car, it actually gets better estimated gas mileage — as high as 52 mpg combined,' Hanley said. 'You pay a bit more for the extra room and efficiency, however, as the Camry Hybrid starts around $30,000.' The bottom line is that when looking for a new hybrid car, you may be comparing price points to traditional cars — especially if you're on a frugal budget. The nice news is that the price of 2025 hybrids, generally, isn't much more expensive than good 'ole regular cars that are fresh off the lot. 2025 is looking to be a good model year for comfortable rides and semi-electric driving. 'When you look at all new hybrid vehicles, including larger vehicles and luxury models, the average price for the class is approaching $50,000 — similar to the average price of new cars in general,' Hanley said. 'The prices of these vehicles [listed] significantly undercut this average.' Nicole Spector contributed to the reporting for this article. Editor's note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact year, make or model of the vehicle(s) listed in this article. More From GOBankingRates5 Subtly Genius Moves All Wealthy People Make With Their Money 4 Reasons All Retirees Should Have a Safety Deposit BoxThis article originally appeared on 4 Best 2025 Hybrid Cars for People on a Frugal Budget
