SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The car shopping experts at Edmunds today announced the winners of the Edmunds Top Rated Awards 2026, recognizing the best new vehicles on sale.
The winners of the Edmunds Top Rated Awards 2026 are:
- Edmunds Top Rated Car 2026 — Honda Civic Hybrid, delivering comfort, refinement, a spacious interior and excellent fuel economy in an affordable package.
- Edmunds Top Rated Electric Car 2026 — Tesla Model 3, combining improved build quality and ride comfort in a compelling mix of efficiency, performance and value.
- Edmunds Top Rated SUV 2026 — Hyundai Palisade Hybrid, showcasing a look and feel more premium than SUVs that cost twice as much, along with a hybrid system that’s both powerful and efficient.
- Edmunds Top Rated Electric SUV 2026 — Hyundai Ioniq 5, offering ample space for passengers and cargo, a novel interior design and standout technology.
- Edmunds Top Rated Truck 2026 — Ford Maverick, packing capability, practicality, and utility into a compact truck.
- Edmunds Top Rated Electric Truck 2026 — Rivian R1T, boasting style, performance, innovative design and outstanding versatility.
- Edmunds Top Rated Best of the Best 2026 — Hyundai Palisade Hybrid, raising the bar for vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
Why these vehicles stand out in today’s market
Reflecting current market desires for value and affordability, five of the six winning vehicles offer starting MSRPs below $40,000, including two below the $30,000 mark. This contrasts with an industry average MSRP of $50,858, according to Edmunds data[1].
“The Edmunds Top Rated Awards are the gold standard in vehicle recognition, backed by rigorous independent testing,” said Alistair Weaver, Edmunds’ editor-in-chief. “In 2026, car shoppers are navigating higher purchase costs and are searching harder than ever for vehicles that truly deliver value. Our awards spotlight the cars, trucks and SUVs that excel not just in performance and quality, but in meeting a wide range of shopper needs and budgets. Put simply, these are the vehicles we’d recommend our family and friends to buy.”
Hyundai has claimed three wins in the Edmunds Top Rated Awards 2026 with the Ioniq 5 and dual honor for Palisade Hybrid. The Honda Civic Hybrid, Tesla Model 3 and Rivian R1T return as back-to-back winners in their respective categories.
Grounded in real-world vehicle testing
Presented annually since 2020, the awards represent the standouts from Edmunds’ industry-leading vehicle testing program. Each year, the Edmunds editorial team tests 300-plus vehicles, driving more than 500,000 miles to deliver the definitive Edmunds Rating, the foundation of the Edmunds Top Rated Awards.
New scoring debuted: More rigorous ratings to reflect the evolving market
In 2025, Edmunds updated its 10-point ratings system to better reflect how Edmunds’ testing experts evaluate and compare vehicles in today’s market. As vehicles have become more complex, the updated approach applies more stringent scoring standards, grounded in unbiased testing to better differentiate performance, quality and value for car shoppers.
Within this updated framework, Edmunds Ratings are based on Edmunds’ industry-leading 227-point testing process, which relies on a combination of professional-grade satellite equipment, on-track measurements and thousands of hours of real-world driving.
Edmunds Top Rated Best of the Best 2026
Also returning for 2026 is the Edmunds Top Rated Best of the Best award — recognizing the standout vehicle among Edmunds Top Rated winners with consideration given to the vehicle’s impact, innovation and relevance to car shoppers. The Hyundai Palisade Hybrid has earned Edmunds Top Rated Best of the Best honors for 2026 with an impressive fusion of style, power and comfort.
Edmunds Top Rated Highly Recommended Vehicles 2026
Rounding out the roster of Edmunds Top Rated Award selections for 2026, Edmunds is also highlighting 11 additional vehicles as Highly Recommended. These distinguished models were finalists in each of our Edmunds Top Rated categories, typically topping their respective market segment.
The Edmunds Top Rated Highly Recommended vehicles for 2026 are:
- Toyota Camry (Car)
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class (Car)
- BMW i5 (Electric Car)
- Audi A6 Sportback E-tron (Electric Car)
- Ford Expedition (SUV)
- Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (SUV)
- Hyundai Ioniq 9 (Electric SUV)
- BMW iX (Electric SUV)
- Ford F-150 (Truck)
- Ford Ranger (Truck)
- GMC Sierra EV (Electric Truck)
More About Edmunds Top Rated Awards 2026
Edmunds Top Rated Awards help drive consumer purchasing decisions. Car shoppers who visit the Edmunds Top Rated Awards page are more likely to submit a lead for a winning vehicle than other Edmunds visitors[2]. Additionally, Edmunds Top Rated 2025 award-winning vehicles received a 4% lift in sessions on Edmunds vehicle pages.[3]
The 2026 Edmunds Top Rated Award winners were selected by the Edmunds editorial team in part based on informed opinions gathered during its vehicle testing and ranking process, including results from the Edmunds EV Range Test™ and Edmunds EV Efficiency Test™ as well as the Edmunds EV Charging Test™ for electric vehicles.
Edmunds editors selected the overall winners from a group of finalists that consisted of each of the highest-ranked eligible new vehicles as of October 31, 2025, in their vehicle classes assigned by Edmunds. Eligible vehicles must have undergone the full Edmunds testing process by October 31, 2025, and be available for sale as new on January 1, 2026.
The top-ranked vehicles are those with the highest overall test ratings based on the following criteria: performance, comfort, technology, fuel economy and value. The finalists were then assigned to one of six Edmunds Top Rated vehicle classes, and Edmunds' editors selected the overall best vehicle in each class. Further details on the criteria by which vehicles were segmented are available on Edmunds here.
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 Newsweek, Fortune, Great Place to Work and Built In, Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, California. Follow us on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
[1] The average MSRP across all new vehicles in the U.S. market rose 1.5% year-over-year to $50,858 in January 2026, according to Edmunds data.
[2] Edmunds internal website data from 2025
[3] Edmunds internal website data from 2025
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Mitch Paul Edmunds 310-491-8738 pr@edmunds.com
