When you need a new car, it’s tempting to buy the cheapest one you can. As long as a car gets you from point A to point B, the thinking goes, it’s good enough. Though there is some truth to that argument, it doesn’t take the full picture of owning and living with a car into account. That car with the super-low price tag might be a bear to insure. It might leave you with hefty repair bills, or it might guzzle gas.

That car might not meet your daily needs either. Your family may hate being crammed in its small back seat, it might not have all the cargo space you need, or its harsh ride or underpowered engine might turn your commute into a slog. That cheap car may also lack the latest safety equipment, and while it’s true that you can drive without a suite of in-car connectivity apps, they do make finding your way a lot easier and the trip more pleasant.

Finding the balance between a good car and a cheap car is where the Best Cars for the Money awards come in. The awards cover 11 different automotive classes. The winners have the best combination of quality and value in their respective classes, so they’re all good cars that are also good long-term deals.

How We Measured Quality

To measure a vehicle’s quality, we use the overall score from the U.S. News Best Car rankings. A model’s overall score in our vehicle rankings isn’t based on the opinions or tests of U.S. News editors. Instead, we collect and analyze every published, credible review of a given model to get the consensus of the automotive press on things like how well a car drives, how comfortable its interior is, and how well its connectivity and tech features work. We combine that analysis with safety and reliability data to get a numerical overall score, which we use to measure quality in the Best Cars for the Money awards.

How We Measured Value

The actual cost of a car is much more than just the final negotiated price. A car has significant ongoing costs, like repairs, fuel, and insurance. To measure the kind of value a car offers, we start with real-time transaction prices reported by our partner TrueCar. We then combine that information with five-year total ownership costs from Vincentric. Those two measures together provide a car’s value score for the Best Cars for the Money.

See the photo gallery of the winners »