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Second-Gen Kia Niro Hits the Sweet Spot of Style, Value and Performance; List Boasts First-Ever 'Best SUV' Category

CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Car-shopping marketplace Cars.com™ (NYSE: CARS) today announced the winners of its annual Best Of awards program, which highlights winners in six categories: Best Family Car, Best Luxury Car, Best SUV, Best Electric Car, Best Pickup Truck, and the highest honor: Best Car of the Year. This year, Kia's 2023 Niro has earned the coveted Best Car of 2023 honor from an evaluation pool of all-new and significantly redesigned vehicles for the model year.

Cars.com automotive experts lauded the 2023 Niro for retaining the best features of its first-generation model while implementing practical and stylish upgrades, including improved efficiency, new LED running lights and customizable rear quarter accent panels.

"With mounting consumer interest in battery-powered cars, we named the Kia Niro — with its EV, plug-in hybrid and EV versions — as our Best Car of 2023," said Jenni Newman, Cars.com editor-in-chief. "The Niro boasts impressive versatility, style, comfort and value, but it was the hybrid version of this hatchback that really wowed our judges. Overall, it leads an impressive pack of winners this year, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee as our first-ever Best SUV and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as our Best EV. All of our winners represent the very best in their respective categories and signal to shoppers where to begin their search."

Competition Brings out the Best in Value and Options

Emerging brands are driving innovation and value for the money among other new entrants and legacy automakers alike, and consumers are answering with growing demand for high quality delivered at even higher value. Two of this year's six Best Of winners — the Kia Niro and Ford Maverick — were also named to Cars.com's first-ever Affordability Report, published in January. As a steady stream of new electric models roll off the line and into the market, all stacked with the latest technological conveniences (plus some fun bells and whistles), it will continue to add pressure on manufacturers to exceed shoppers' expectations of what an EV ownership experience can provide.

Car shoppers who want to take advantage of Cars.com's Best of 2023 award-winning roster will find a plethora of these vehicles available from their local dealership on Cars.com. When searching, look for the "Best of 2023" badging displayed on a vehicle's profile. Shoppers can also find an extensive library of helpful information and tools including expert reviews, side-by-side comparisons, vehicle price history, financing, payment calculators, trade-in offers, area dealers and much more. Before a shopper sets foot on a dealer lot, they can find all the education and resources they need to prepare them for a seamless car-buying experience.

Award Methodology

When determining the Best Car award winner, Cars.com experts consider three key criteria: quality, innovation and value. The Cars.com's marketplace Best Of awards program includes six different categories: Best Car, Best SUV, Best Pickup Truck, Best Family Car, Best Luxury Car and Best Electric Vehicle. Cars.com's experts consider all model-year 2023 vehicles in a corresponding category for these six awards.

To find out more about the Kia Niro, why it's named Cars.com's Best Car of 2023 and to see other 2023 award winners, visit Cars.com/awards.

ABOUT CARS.COM INC.
CARS is a leading automotive marketplace platform that provides a robust set of digital solutions that connect car shoppers with sellers. Launched in 1998 with the flagship marketplace Cars.com and headquartered in Chicago, the Company empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive retailers. In a rapidly changing market, CARS enables dealerships and OEMs with innovative technical solutions and data-driven intelligence to better reach and influence ready-to-buy shoppers, increase inventory turn and gain market share.

In addition to Cars.com™, CARS brands include Dealer Inspire®, a technology provider building solutions that future-proof dealerships with more efficient operations and connected digital experiences; FUEL™, which gives dealers and OEMs the opportunity to harness the untapped power of digital video by leveraging Cars.com's pure audience of in-market car shoppers, DealerRater®, a leading car dealer review and reputation management platform, CreditIQ®, digital financing technology and Accu-Trade®, vehicle valuation and appraisal technology.

The full suite of CARS properties includes Cars.com™, Dealer Inspire®, FUEL™, DealerRater®, CreditIQ®, Accu-Trade.com®. For more information, visit www.Cars.com

SOURCE Cars.com Inc.