The Kelley Blue Book Consumer Choice Awards — formerly known as the Brand Image Awards — recognize automakers whose model lines of cars, trucks, and SUVs shoppers are enthusiastic about. The winners of these awards are determined by the opinions of in-market car shoppers. For decades, Kelley Blue Book has researched this data as part of its annual study of new-car shoppers’ perceptions. The brands that win these awards excite and attract new car shoppers, and doing this is essential when it comes to success in the marketplace.
The Consumer Choice Awards cover 14 categories for mainstream and luxury brands, including overall winners for EV/hybrid and truck. Categories cover key attributes like value, trust, and the in-vehicle experience. Here are this year’s Consumer Choice Award winners, based on Kelley Blue Book data from our annual Brand Watch Study.
Best Brands
Best Overall Brand: Honda
Honda is this year’s winner because of its quality, engineering excellence, and impressive range of vehicles.
Most Trusted Brand: Honda
Honda’s vehicles are known for their practicality, fuel efficiency, safety, and reliability.
Best Value Brand: Honda
Value has always been part of Honda’s DNA, and Honda has won this category every year since 2015.
Best In-Vehicle Experience Brand: Honda
Here, shoppers praised Honda for ride comfort, advanced tech, and interior quality and amenities.
Best Performance Brand: Honda
When it comes to performance, Honda’s track-ready 315-horsepower Civic Type R is at the top of the list. And excellent steering and handling are hallmarks of Honda’s entire vehicle lineup.
Best Car Styling Brand: Dodge
Winning this award five out of the last seven years, Dodge vehicles turn heads with the brand’s signature muscular looks and retro style.
Best Luxury Brands
Best Overall Luxury Brand: Porsche
Porsche’s cars and SUVs combine fantastic driving dynamics with luxury amenities and timeless style.
Most Trusted Luxury Brand: Lexus
Lexus has been the Most Trusted Luxury Brand since 2016.
Best Value Luxury Brand: Acura
Affordable, fuel-efficient, and a great value for the money, Acura returns to the podium with luxurious, sporty models like the RDX and Integra.
Most Refined Luxury Brand: Porsche
Porsche’s cars and SUVs are known as much for their sophistication and quality as they are for their sleek lines and well-crafted interiors.
Best Performance Luxury Brand: Porsche
Porsche’s track experience is part of the company’s heritage, and exhilarating performance is present in every vehicle in the lineup.
Best Car Styling Luxury Brand: BMW
From the storied 3 Series to the chiseled XM, BMW’s vehicle line has a distinctive range of designs that are muscular and athletic.
Best Overall EV/Hybrid Brand
Best Overall EV/Hybrid Brand: Lexus
Lexus is a leader when it comes to designing innovative, efficient, and reliable electrified powertrains while making the driving experience seamless.
Best Overall Truck Brand
Best Overall Truck Brand: Toyota
Toyota has won this category six out of the last seven years, thanks to excellent resale value, capability, innovative tech, and reliability.
About the Consumer Choice Awards
New cars, trucks, and SUVs represent a lot more than mere transportation. They serve as ways for consumers to say something about themselves while going from Point A to Point B. For many drivers, the goal is to get away from it all. For others, an SUV is essential for an active outdoor lifestyle. And for others yet, having an all-electric vehicle is the ultimate goal.
With this wide variety of shoppers’ interests, gauging this popularity is no easy task. The Kelley Blue Book Consumer Choice Awards use the opinions from more than 12,000 in-market, new-vehicle shoppers, tracking 14 key factors that are important to shoppers. These are informed consumers who extensively research their vehicle purchases on KBB.com. We follow this audience through our annual Brand Watch Study, which compiles consumer trends and attitudes on new vehicles available today.
The Brand Watch Study samples both mobile and desktop users. This allows the study to reflect the views of a more diverse group of respondents. Since 2007, the brand-level study has included more than 180,000 interviews. Since 2012, the model-level study has included more than 500,000 interviews.
