2012 USAA Best Values: From A (Audi Q7) to Z (Honda CR-Z)

May is Military Appreciation Month in this country, and while many automakers are celebrating by buffing up their discount programs for members of the armed forces, the USAA has done its bit by releasing the 2012 list of “Best Value Vehicles.”

Not familiar with the USAA? It was originally founded in 1922 as the United Services Automobile Association with a mission to “facilitate the financial security of its members, associates, and their families through provision of a full range of highly competitive financial products and services.” The organization currently does exactly that for almost 9 million members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, and its annual Best Value Vehicles list is an important component of that effort.

As for the Best Values program itself, “The goal of the list is to help members identify vehicles that offer better safety ratings, lower insurance premium costs, higher fuel economy, better overall reliability and lower MSRP compared to other vehicles in the same category," according to Steve Thompson, an assistant vice president with USAA.

2012 USAA Best Values: Cars

Leading the way among the USAA’s 2012 best car values was the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which was the No. 1 choice in the country’s No. 1 segment—Midsize Sedans. Notably, although the new Toyota Prius c and Toyota Prius v have gottenoff to strong starts in the marketplace, the Camry Hybrid outsold both of them in April and finished as the second-best-selling hybrid in America last month. The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid starts from $25,900 and posts an EPA line of up to 43 mpg city/39 mpg highway/41 mpg combined.

The full list of 2012 USAA Best Values in the car segments: 

• Large Sedan—Dodge Charger
• Midsize Sedan—Toyota Camry Hybrid
• Small Sedan—Hyundai Elantra
• Large Luxury Sedan—Hyundai Genesis
• Midsize Luxury Sedan—Volvo S60
• Sports—Ford Mustang
• Coupe—Honda CR-Z

2012 USAA Best Values: SUVs and Crossovers

A particular highlight on this side of the ledger is the Dodge Journey, named the Best Value in the Midsize SUV class: The Journey is bigger than competitors like the Chevy Equinox, Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, but undercuts that trio in price and is, in fact, the lowest-price three-row vehicle in the country. That’s because Dodge is going the high-value route with the Journey and offering it in a special 2012 American Value Package that starts at $18,995. The Equinox, CR-V and RAV4 all start north of $20,000. Helping matters is the fact that Dodge is still offering that third row of seats—an optional upgrade—for zero dollars for a limited time.

This year’s USAA Best Values among SUVs and crossovers: 

• Large SUV—Chevrolet Traverse
• Midsize SUV—Dodge Journey
• Small SUV—Kia Sportage
• Large Luxury SUV—Audi Q7
• Midsize Luxury SUV—Lexus RX 450h

2012 USAA Best Values: Pickups, Wagon and Minivan

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2012 USAA Best Value rankings, the Toyota Tundra earned the nod in the Large Pickup group, beating out the usual suspects from Detroit as well as the Nissan Titan. It’s a rare victory for the Tundra, which was the only full-size pickup to lose customers in April 2012 as compared to the same month in 2011. The sales rundown from the previous month: Ford F-150, +4.4 percent on 47,453 deliveries; Ram pickup, +19 percent on 21,126 deliveries; Chevrolet Silverado, +4.8 percent on 30,749 deliveries; GMC Sierra, +19.7 percent on 12,598 deliveries; Nissan Titan, +25.1 percent on 1,568 deliveries; and Toyota Tundra, -13.1 percent on 7,291 deliveries.

The rest of the USAA Best Value categories and winners: 

• Large Pickup—Toyota Tundra
• Small Pickup—Nissan Frontier
• Wagon—Nissan JUKE
• Minivan—Dodge Grand Caravan

2012 USAA Best Values: Top Ten for Teens

 This year, the USAA also launched a “Top Ten for Teens List” featuring vehicles that provide significant advantages in reliability, safety and low insurance costs. However, with the first pick on the list being the Scion tC, it’s clear that “fun” wasn’t left out of the equation: Adding an eager 180-hp I4 engine to a six-speed manual transmission and a surprisingly capable suspension, the tC showcases an MSRP of $19,305.

The USAA’s inaugural Top Ten for Teens: 

• Scion tC
• Nissan Cube
• Honda Fit
• Scion xD
• Scion xB
• Toyota Yaris
• Honda Civic
• Hyundai Elantra
• Honda CR-Z
• Kia Forte