Honda today was named “2016 Best SUV Brand” by U.S. News & World Report, tied to the excellent scores earned by the Honda HR-V crossover and CR-V and Pilot SUVs in the U.S. News & World Report Best Cars Rankings.
“Honda wins the Best SUV Brand award on the strength of its entire SUV lineup,” said Jamie Page Deaton, Managing Editor, U.S. News Best Cars. “The HR-V, CR-V and Pilot are all consistently ranked at the top of their respective classes, as automotive journalists are impressed with the utility, comfort and family-friendly features that all three offer. No matter what class SUV shoppers are searching in, Honda has a model worth considering.”
This accolade comes as Honda continues to strengthen and expand its light-truck lineup, which began with the launch of the refreshed 2015 CR-V in the fall of 2014, followed by the spring arrival of the all-new HR-V crossover and summer introduction of a redesigned, third-generation Pilot. On the strength of these products, Honda is on track for record results in 2016, with light truck sales reaching a new high of 550,210 units through October, a 13.6 percent gain over year-ago results; with CR-V on track to earn the title of America’s best-selling SUV for the 4th consecutive year.
“This recognition of Honda as the Best SUV Brand validates our effort to produce world-class SUVs to meet the needs and desires of families of any size,” said Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Honda Division. “Honda is committed to providing fuel efficient, safe and fun products with the quality and reliability to meet the needs of our discerning customers.”
The awards recognize the brands whose vehicles perform the best on an overall basis within four major categories of the U.S. News vehicle rankings: Cars, SUVs, Trucks and Luxury. The Best Vehicle Brands methodology uses the combined overall scores from the U.S. News Best Cars rankings across all models in each of the award classes. The overall rankings score is based on an analysis of published, credible reviews of a given model from the automotive press, as well as safety and reliability data.
The 2015 Honda CR-V, with its new direct-injected engine, more refined interior and first application of Honda Sensing™ safety and driver-assistive technologies, was named as 2015 Motor Trend Sport Utility of the Year. The Honda HR-V brought Honda’s packaging magic to a new and growing market segment, and quickly became the subcompact SUV segment’s hottest selling model. On the heels of HR-V came thee redesigned 2016 Pilot, Honda’s flagship SUV, offering more top-in-class efficiency and safety ratings performance in a sleek new design.
The CR-V, HR-V and Pilot are all produced exclusively in North America at Honda’s plants in Lincoln, Alabama (Pilot), East Liberty, Ohio (CR-V) and Celaya, Mexico
(HR-V). Honda R&D Americas, Inc. is also responsible for development of the Pilot, Ridgeline and Odyssey models and led development of the all-new 2016 Civic Sedan and Civic Coupe.
About U.S. News Best Cars
Since 2007, Best Cars, the automotive channel of U.S. News & World Report, has published rankings of the majority of new vehicles sold in America. U.S. News annually publishes the Best Cars awards, including Best Cars for the Money and Best Cars for Families. Best Cars had over 45 million unique visitors over the past year, with over 65 percent of visitors actively shopping for a car. Close to 80 percent of active shoppers reported that the U.S. News Best Cars site influenced their car purchasing decision.
U.S. News & World Report is a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. Focusing on Education, Health, Personal Finance, Travel, Cars and News & Opinion, www.usnews.com provides consumer advice, rankings, news and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. 30 million people visit www.usnews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive automobiles for American car buyers through approximately 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Accord, Civic, Fit and CR-Z, along with the HR-V crossover and Pilot and CR-V sport/utility vehicles, as well as the Odyssey minivan.
Honda has the longest-lasting cars1 of any mainstream automotive brand in America, and more models achieving an IIHSTOP SAFETY PICK+ rating than any other automotive nameplate.
Honda has been producing automobiles in America for more than 30 years and currently operates 17 major manufacturing facilities in North America. More than 90 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. are made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
1Longevity based on IHS Automotive, Polk U.S. vehicles in operation registration statistics 1988–2012 for Honda and non-luxury competing brands.
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