U.S. News & World Report has ranked the best cars for families for the past 12 years. The 13th list is out, choosing winners in nine categories: Midsize car, hybrid car, hybrid SUV, compact SUV, 2-row SUV, 3-row SUV, large SUV, minivan, and EV. As a measure of how much the vehicle landscape has veered toward SUVs, when U.S. News launched the awards in 2011 there were 10 categories just for cars as well as another nine for SUVs and one for the minivan. Now, there aren’t enough midsize sedans to break the award into affordable and upscale segments, and there aren’t enough subcompacts nor hatchbacks nor wagons to award those segments anything. That’s called “progress,” right?
Anyway, the outlet explains that “the award methodology combines professional automotive reviews, safety and reliability ratings, seating and cargo volume and the availability of family-friendly features. Within each of the nine automotive categories, the vehicle with the highest composite score is named the Best Car for Families in that category.” The winner in each segment:
- Midsize Car: 2023 Kia K5 — One of Kia’s three awards in this year’s ranks, displaces the Honda Accord that’s won three times in the past four years.
- Hybrid Car: 2023 Toyota Camry Hybrid — The standard Camry is what usually swaps places with the Accord in the Midsize category. Locked out of that this year, it leads the hybrid spot by displacing the Accord Hybrid that won last year and picking up the mantle of the Avalon Hybrid that won in 2020 and 2021.
- Hybrid SUV: 2023 Toyota Highlander Hybrid — In the 11 years this category’s been awarded, the Highlander Hybrid has lost this category just once, ceding the silverware to the Lexus RX Hybrid in 2014.
- Compact SUV: 2023 Hyundai Tucson — A second consecutive victory for the Tucson in the segment the Honda CR-V once dominated.
- 2-Row SUV: 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe — The Honda Passport has won the past three years, the Santa Fe takes over for its first victory.
- 3-Row SUV: 2023 Kia Telluride — The Telluride development team needs to buy another trophy cabinet. Kia’s big SUV keeps hoovering so many awards. The Telluride takes this spot for the fourth year in a row.
- Large SUV: 2023 Chevrolet Suburban — The only domestic on the list has won three years in a row and five times in total. It’s back at the top after the Yukon and Escalade siblings won in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and the Ford Expedition won from 2018 to 2020.
- Electric Vehicle: 2023 Kia EV6 — This segment used to be twinned with the Hybrid Car award. Broken out as EV-only this year, the EV6 sends another triumph to South Korea.
- Minivan: 2023 Honda Odyssey — The Odyssey retains its shutout status, winning for the 13th consecutive time.
