Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards #KBBBestBuy AD

This post is sponsored by iConnect Influencer Management and Kelley Blue Book. While travel expenses are provided, all opinions remain my own.

I remember when we were purchasing my first car back in 1989.  It was a 1984 convertible Volkswagen Rabbit in great condition, well taken care of by the previous owner, and a teenage girl’s dream car.  My mom worked for a local bank and consulted Kelley Blue Book to determine if the asking price for this used car was appropriate before we decided.  26 years and 3 vehicle transactions later we’ve trusted Kelly Blue Book for new and used car pricing and valuation.

In celebration of the upcoming 2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, I’m excited to announce I’m attending their inaugural Ride-N-Drive event for bloggers in Irvine, California this week.  This two-day event will offer a deeper understanding of the new car shopping tools and resources designed to help people make smart decisions as they consider one of life’s biggest purchases.  Here’s a little about the awards:

Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards honor the top new model-year vehicles available in the U.S. market, (regardless of whether it’s all-new or not), in 12 major categories, along with an overall winner (chosen from the winning list of 12 segment winners).  Designed as a service to the American new-car buyer, these awards recognize the best of all available 2016 model-year vehicles.  The awards are the culmination of a year-long regimen of expert vehicle evaluation and testing of nearly every new vehicle available in America, along with analysis of a broad swath of vehicle-related data, including pricing/transaction prices, 5-Year Cost-to-Own information (which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars), consumer reviews and ratings, and vehicle sales information.  Backed by nearly 90 years of expertise, the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards help shoppers’ in-market for a new car make the best possible purchase decision.

In addition to an exclusive look at the rigorous evaluation and testing process by KBB.com’s expert editorial team, us bloggers will get behind the wheel of a number of 2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Finalists in the family-friendly Midsize SUV and Luxury SUV categories.

The list of categories and nominees are as follows:

Truck
2016 Chevy Colorado
2016 Toyota Tacoma
2016 Nissan Titan
2016 Ford F150

Small Car
2016 Honda Civic
2016 Hyundai Elantra
2016 Scion iM
2016 Subaru Impreza
2016 Toyota Corolla

Midsize Car
2016 Chevrolet Malibu
2016 Honda Accord
2016 Hyundai Sonata
2016 Kia Optima
2016 Mazda MAZDA6
2016 Toyota Camry

Full-Size Car
2016 Chevrolet Impala
2016 Chrysler 300
2016 Hyundai Genesis
2016 Nissan Maxima
2016 Toyota Avalon

Small SUV
2016 Honda CR-V
2016 Honda HR-V
2016 Hyundai Tucson
2016 Mazda CX-3

Midsize SUV
2016 Ford Explorer
2016 Honda Pilot
2016 Mitsubishi Outlander
2016 Toyota Highlander

Full-Size SUV
2016 Chevrolet Tahoe
2016 Ford Expedition
2016 Toyota Sequoia

Minivan
2016 Honda Odyssey
2016 Kia Sedona
2016 Toyota Sienna

Performance Car
2016 Chevrolet Camaro
2016 Chevrolet Corvette
2016 Ford GT350
2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata
2016 Scion FR-S

Electric/Hybrid Car
2016 Chevrolet Volt
2016 Toyota Mirai
2016 Volkswagen e-Golf

Luxury Car
2016 Acura ILX
2016 Lexus GS
2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Luxury SUV
2016 Acura MDX
2016 Lexus RX
2016 Lincoln MKX
2016 Volvo XC90

With 3 drivers in the house, we currently own 3 Fords and a Volvo with some changes on the horizon.  I’m excited to see so many great brands on the list, many that I’ve owned or have test-driven for the blog.  What cars are you excited to see on the list?  What car do you think is missing from the list?

Follow me and the others on social media during my trip by watching the hashtags #KBBBestBuy and #ConnectKBB.  Stay tuned to my follow up post of the event as well as the winners!