Everybody wants a good deal, but sometimes the “great” price paid at purchase, even after factoring in a deep discount, doesn’t
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| The RDX is Acura’s bestselling model in Canada and second-best in the U.S., and beat all competitors on the compact luxury SUV sales chart in the former jurisdiction and all but one here at home. (Photo: Acura) |
seem as good later on.
Kelley Blue Book tries to remedy this problem by educating consumers about the real cost of owning a vehicle, and then recommends models it believes drive real long-term value. As part of this exercise its 5-Year Cost to Own Awards program recognizes high achieving vehicles and brands.
Acura earns KBB 5-Year Cost to Own Luxury Award two years straight
For the second consecutive year Acura took home KBB’s 5-Year Cost to Own Luxury Brand award thanks to its entire lineup placing either first or second in more than half of seven total 5-Year Cost to Own factors, which include the vehicle’s upfront price, depreciation, finance and insurance fees, expected fuel costs,
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| The MDX is Acura’s top seller in the U.S. and the most popular dedicated seven-passenger premium SUV in Canada. (Photo: Acura) |
maintenance and repair costs, and jurisdictional fees. With all totals tallied up, KBB projects Acura models will incur the lowest ownership costs over the next five years.
“This award demonstrates, once again, that the exceptional quality and reliability of Acura products lead the luxury segment,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of Acura.
Acura offers six models including four cars, the ILX sport sedan, TLX performance luxury sedan, and RLX Sport Hybrid luxury sedan, and entirely new NSX mid-engine hybrid supercar, plus two crossover SUVs, the 5-passenger RDX luxury
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| Acura added the NSX hybrid supercar to the lineup for 2017, in expectation that its influence would trickle down to other models within the luxury brand’s lineup. (Photo: Acura) |
crossover SUV, and the seven-passenger Acura MDX, North America’s all-time bestselling three-row luxury SUV.
While Kelley Blue Book is an American company and the previously noted factors that result in 5-Year Cost to Own Award winners are derived from U.S.-spec models sold into markets across the United States, the cost of ownership benefits that caused KBB to choose Acura over all other luxury brands translate directly into the Canadian market as well.
In fact, Acura’s Canadian division offers many more standard features for comparatively low pricing after factoring in exchange rates, while the greater standard
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| The TLX is a strong seller in the highly competitive compact D-segment, outpacing all non-German competitors. (Photo: Acura) |
content helps keep resale values high. What’s more, Acura’s average fuel economy advantage makes an even bigger difference in Canada than the U.S. due to higher average gasoline prices north of the 49th, while maintenance and repair costs are similar between Canada and the U.S., once again after factoring in exchange rates.
These factors help make Acura models amongst the most popular in their respective segments, especially the RDX and MDX crossover SUVs which placed second out of 12 and fourth out of 20 competitors respectively in sales last year, outpacing all other Tier 2 luxury brands. Additionally, the MDX was the bestselling dedicated seven-passenger premium SUV throughout calendar year 2016, while the TLX was the top selling non-German challenger within the compact D-segment.
©(Copyright Canadian Auto Press)
