Best Car To Buy 2019: Previous winners

We’ll soon announce The Car Connection’s top award: Best Car To Buy 2019. As its title suggests, the award goes to the new car we think best handles the realities of everyday life. 

Our staff picks the winner based on a variety of criteria. Best Car To Buy 2019 isn’t a car for enthusiasts or one that puts eco-friendliness above all else. It can’t sacrifice its ability to handle the daily grind, no matter how its owners will use it. We look to a car that balances fuel efficiency, safety, interior spaciousness, quality, design, and driving dynamics. 

MORE: Follow all our Best Car To Buy 2019 news as we name a winner

Our staff members collectively have put hundreds, if not thousands, of miles on each of this year’s nominees. 

We also look to previous winners for inspiration. These are winners we stand by today as we look toward the announcement of our eighth annual Best Car To Buy. 

2018 Honda Accord

2018: Honda Accord

Last year, the Accord wowed us before we even drove it with its sleek styling, its promise of fuel-efficient engines, and its luxury-level interior. Then we drove it. Expectations: exceeded. The 2019 Accord was enough to keep us in the sedan fold even against an onslaught of crossover SUVs that handle family duties with minivan-lite confidence. 

Honda’s move to a turbocharged engine lineup gave the Accord some much-needed verve without sacrificing fuel economy. The all-day comfort of its seats combined with its improved, Apple and Android-compatible infotainment make the Accord pleasant for daily commutes and for long highway treks. Top trims ride on an adaptive suspension that we said last year “hits our sweet spot.” 

And at around $25,000 to start, the Accord is highly equipped at every level and costs well less than the average new car. A year on, our enthusiasm for Honda’s mid-size sedan hasn’t waned, even as buyers flock toward crossover SUVs.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Long Term Fall Gallery

2017: Chrysler Pacifica

The minivan isn’t dead—if anything, it’s becoming the “thinking family’s hauler.” It’s with that mindset that the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica easily won us over. Its flexibility was unmatched by anything on our nominee list. Between two rows of seats that fold into the floor to create a completely flat load space at the tug of a pair of levers, a high-class interior with lots of standard and optional technology, and a strong V-6 engine, the Pacifica checked off all our boxes.

Later in the model year, a hybrid version arrived. Factoring in a federal rebate, the hybrid’s actually cheaper—and thriftier—than the standard model, although it lost the hideaway second row that tucked into the cargo floor.

The Pacifica won’t reboot minivans as buyers increasingly flock to less useful crossovers, but those in the know certainly get it.

2016 Honda Pilot

2016: Honda Pilot

In 2016, Honda surprised us with its third-generation Pilot. Its predecessor was surprisingly trucky, but the new-for-2016 Pilot arrived with slick styling and road manners to match. In typical Honda fashion it made leaps and bounds inside where buyers need the most, gaining a far more versatile interior with excellent space for every passenger.

Moreover, the Pilot was surprisingly good to drive. We called it “suave, slick, with great utility and safety to boot” last year, and the same holds true now. 

Competition only gets fiercer among three-row crossovers, but the Pilot remains a standout. An update for 2019 made active safety tech standard and reworked some of the optional transmission’s shortcomings. 

2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i

2015: Subaru Legacy

Displacing even its versatile Subaru Outback sibling, the mid-size Legacy won the 2015 award for a variety of reasons. It was as polished to drive as any rival, and it came standard with all-wheel drive. Its spacious interior trended toward luxurious with its soft materials and elegant design, and Subaru didn’t skimp on active safety tech. 

We had an especially competitive pool of rivals for the 2015 award, but the Legacy’s outstanding value helped it: “It’s the value factor that really nudges the Legacy ahead of every other contender,” we reported. 

Today, the Legacy retains those solid virtues and remains desirable among mid-size sedans—especially with active safety gear newly standard for 2019. 

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