SANTA MONICA, CA — November 20, 2018 —
The automotive experts at Edmunds have launched a new section of the Edmunds site designed to answer the most basic of all car shopping questions: which cars are currently the best in their class. Edmunds "Best Car Rankings" are new landing pages that will list the top 10 vehicles in descending order in each of more than 50 segments. The rankings are based on the results of Edmunds' industry-leading vehicle testing process, which includes evaluation at the Edmunds test track, on a 115-mile road test loop and in day-to-day driving situations.
"The Edmunds vehicle testing process goes far beyond a generalized opinion based on a few hours with a vehicle: Many of our experts are trained engineers who subject each vehicle to extensive analysis over the course of days, weeks and sometimes months in order to give car shoppers a complete understanding of how a vehicle performs in the real world," said Alistair Weaver, Edmunds editor-in-chief and vice president of editorial. "The Edmunds editorial philosophy is all about putting the consumer first, and the Best Car Rankings pages are designed to cut through the clutter and give a quick answer as to which vehicles are leading their segments right now."
To derive the rankings, Edmunds editors rate vehicles based on more than 30 criteria in five categories including: driving/performance, comfort, interior, utility and technology. In addition, editors give an informed subjective score on a vehicle's "fun factor," awarding extra points to cars that offer a compelling design, are fun to drive and have a unique personality. Editors also factor in a vehicle's overall value.
The Edmunds Best Car Rankings pages are updated in near real-time as editors test new vehicles, giving car shoppers the current perspective of what the top choices are at any given moment. Edmunds strives to test vehicles that are at a trim level that represents the bulk of what most car shoppers will naturally find at a dealership.
Early testing results demonstrate that these new vehicle rankings are proving helpful to car shoppers. Key Edmunds site engagement metrics like dwell time, new contacts and return visitation rates showed double digit growth on the rankings pages during the initial testing period.
Car shoppers can easily find the Edmunds Best Car Rankings from the Edmunds home page by clicking the white vehicle type icons. Edmunds will also soon show each vehicle's ranking on its core landing page. To learn more about the Edmunds vehicle testing process and how the vehicles are ranked, check out an overview video here: https://youtu.be/yDK5n53vQ0g.
About Edmunds
Edmunds guides car shoppers online from research to purchase. With in-depth reviews of every new vehicle, shopping tips from an in-house team of experts, plus a wealth of consumer and automotive market insights, Edmunds helps millions of shoppers each month select, price and buy a car with confidence. Regarded as one of America's best workplaces by Fortune and Great Place to Work, Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, California, and has a satellite office in Detroit, Michigan. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
