Best value leaderboard

How the score works

• Each metric is rescaled 0-100 across the cars currently shown: the best gets 100, the worst 0 (for cost, price, CO2, 0-60 and similar, lower is better). If every car has the same value it gets 50. Exception: safety uses the fixed NHTSA star scale (5 stars = 100, 4 = 75, 3 = 50, 1 = 0), so one star is worth the same in every list.
• If current fuel prices can't be loaded, fuel uses the EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook's 2026 U.S. average (regular $3.91, diesel $5.19) rather than being left out.
• The score is the weighted average of those 0-100 values using your sliders. A metric a car has no data for shows n/a and is left out; the remaining weights are rescaled. Exception: missing reliability or safety is scored at the peers' 25th percentile (or the same model's nearest-year score if lower) and marked imputed, so missing data never beats the median. Range practicality: gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid = 100; an EV scores its usable range (EPA range × expected battery health, 2%/yr fade, floor 60%) against 250 miles. Confidence is the share of your weight that had real data.
• Cost to own uses the calculator's model (fuel or charging, maintenance, insurance, registration, depreciation) with your settings, counted from the day you buy. New cars: MSRP including the destination fee. Used cars: an est. used price (see below); edit any price in its breakout.
• Est. used price: used prices are based on Kelley Blue Book (KBB) fair purchase price. The depreciation curve is calibrated so the estimate tracks KBB fair purchase prices. Est. used price = original MSRP incl. destination (in that model year's dollars) × share of value kept at the car's age (the calculator's depreciation curve for its powertrain and body, with the model's published 5-year figure where there is one) × a mileage factor (typical mileage assumed: 12,000 mi a year). It is an estimate, not a market quote: enter the real asking price in the car's breakout. Past 10 years the curve is a labeled extrapolation with a value floor (about 10% of MSRP for gas, 7% hybrid, 4% plug-in hybrid, 3% electric; refit 2026-11-04 against 58 KBB fair-purchase prices); cars over 15 years old, or with MSRPs from before 2006, are marked low confidence.
• Low-confidence penalty: a low-confidence car's score is pulled 40% of the way toward the median score of the cars shown (your tier and filters): adjusted = score + 0.40 × (median − score). It is shown in the car's breakout. Low-confidence cars stay in the list by default (coverage goes back to 2000); tick "Hide low-confidence cars" to drop them. Max age and max mileage filters are off unless you fill them in.
• Fun factor, reliability and safety use the specific model year (or generation). NHTSA overall star ratings exist from model year 2011; older cars show n/a.
• Price tiers count every car under the cap, split new and used, with your other filters applied. Ranking happens within the tier.
• Fun factor and Depreciation are scored from their own parts (see the panels above) and then weighted like any other metric.