AAA Car Guide – EVs lead the way in 2023

Electric BMW SUV takes top honors, but Upstart Rivian lands two models in the top five

Electric vehicles (EVs) are taking up more real estate in dealership showrooms nationwide. Their attractive blend of cutting-edge design, advanced technology and energy efficiency have expanded their popularity.

The new 2023 AAA Car Guide is here to help consumers navigate this evolving automotive marketplace by ranking and rating the newest vehicles, including EVs. The Guide provides consumers with reviews, based on testing by AAA Engineers, highlighting how many advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are included in the vehicle, along with other criteria and information.

Announced at this month’s New York International Auto Show, the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 earned the overall top score for the 2023 edition of the AAA Car Guide. All but one of the category winners for 2023 is electric-the gasoline-powered Kia Carnival SX took the minivan category. Meanwhile, Rivian Automotive placed two models in the top five – the R1T Adventure pickup (Pickup Truck category winner) and the R1S Launch Edition SUV.

Gas priced soared in 2022. The national average reached $5.01 a gallon in June. Consumers responded by purchasing more than 760,000 EVs, a 65% increase from 2021. Of the 71 vehicles reviewed for the 2023 AAA Car Guide, 19 are pure electric.

“EV sales continue to increase each year, but consumers still have a lot of questions about them, such as battery life and ease of charging,” said Mike Hoshaw, vice president of automotive services, AAA East Central. “The AAA Car Guide is an easyto-understand resource that takes some of the stress and guesswork out of car-shopping by providing the vital information consumers need to make the right choice.”

The 2023 AAA Car Guide includes comprehensive reviews of each vehicle based on 13 criteria, including the number of ADAS safety features, fuel efficiency, emissions, braking, handling, ride quality and acceleration. These vehicles are tested, scored and placed in one of six vehicle-type categories by the Automotive Research Center (ARC) of the Automobile Club of Southern California, a member of the AAA federation of motor clubs. Additionally, there are three categories based on price.

For those in the market for newer used vehicles, the online AAA Car Guide website also contains links to the two previous editions from 2022 and 2021.

Each of the 2023 AAA Car Guide winners has numerous ADAS safety features and achieves high fuel efficiency.

Winners, detailed evaluation criteria, vehicle reviews and an in-depth analysis of the ADAS technology can be found at AAA.com/ CarGuide. AAA also provides consumers with other resources like the Your Driving Costs calculator and Used EV Car Buyer’s Guide to help with carbuying decisions

The AAA Car Guide also contains detailed information about AAA’s recent research on current automotive technologies such as ADAS and headlight effectiveness.