From a respectable list of 13 different vehicles, we've narrowed the contenders down to six finalists.
They're the cars that will compete for the Green Car Reports 2013 Best Car To Buy Award.
We'll announce the winner on December 10, either a single vehicle (like the Nissan Leaf, our 2011 winner) or a vehicle line (such as last year's winner, the Toyota Prius family).
The finalists are ... drumroll, please ...
- 2013 Chevy Spark
- 2013 Ford C-Max (Hybrid ; Energi plug-in hybrid)
- 2013 Ford Fusion (1.6-liter EcoBoost four; Hybrid; Energi plug-in hybrid)
- 2013 Nissan Altima (2.5-liter with CVT)
- 2013 Tesla Model S (40-kWh version)
- 2013 VW Jetta Hybrid
Eligible 2013 vehicles must be available for retail customers to buy in or before April 2013. And we have to have been able to drive them before December 1 of this year.
Gasoline cars that don't achieve at least 30 mpg on the combined EPA rating don't make the cut, though for new vehicles we may consider projected ratings before the EPA has certified the official numbers.
Qualifying cars must start at $60,000 or less, which eliminates low-volume, ultra-expensive, ultra-exotic science projects--even though some of them can be darned impressive.
In the end, we're looking for the single new vehicle that we feel will have the most significant impact on the green-car market and on fuel consumption--and deliver real-world benefits to new-car buyers.
We'll have more on each of these new vehicles between now and the time we name our award winner.
Meanwhile, you can keep up with all the news on Green Car Reports' 2013 awards by following our Best Car To Buy Award page.
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