These Are the Best Used Cars to Buy This Year

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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These Are the Best Used Cars to Buy This Year

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The car industry has gone through a wrenching transition over the past two years. First, dealerships were shuttered for weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then a shortage of semiconductors used in the electronics systems of cars made many new car models scarce. The problem became so severe that some major manufacturers closed assembly lines. Publicly held car companies reported sharp declines in revenue.

This shortage has resulted in a rise in new and used car prices. In the most recent report on the consumer price index, figures on used cars showed a 37% year-over-year surge in prices in December.

As these prices have risen, car quality and reliability have become more important than ever. People need to research what models they want to buy if they have to pay such large premiums.

The recently released Best Used Cars to Buy for 2022: The Safest, Most-Reliable Cars that Retain the Most Value study from iSeeCars analyzed 12 million used cars, collecting data on how long a model lasts, which hold their value best and which cars were safest, based on National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) findings.
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Cars were divided into categories, including subcompact, compact, SUV, crossover and pickup. In each category, there was a winner and runner-up.

Commenting on the value of the survey, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:

Shoppers who want to purchase a used car can alleviate sticker shock by purchasing a high-quality vehicle that is proven to be long lasting, and this list identifies those vehicles across all vehicle types and price points. This list can point used car shoppers in the right direction of finding the best possible vehicle for their unique needs.

Here are the best used cars by segment, with the runner up included:

Category Winner Runner-Up
Best Subcompact SUV Mazda CX-3 Subaru Crosstrek
Best Luxury Subcompact SUV BMW X1 Buick Encore
Best Small SUV Jeep Wrangler Subaru Outback
Best Luxury Small SUV Acura RDX BMW X3
Best Midsize SUV Toyota Highlander Honda Pilot
Best Luxury Midsize SUV Volvo XC90 Acura MDX
Best Large SUV Toyota Land Cruiser Toyota Sequoia
Best Luxury Large SUV Lexus LX 570 Lincoln Navigator
Best SUV with 3 Rows Toyota Land Cruiser Toyota Highlander
Best Luxury SUV with 3 Rows Volvo XC90 Lexus LX 570
Best Crossover SUV Toyota Highlander Subaru Outback
Best Luxury Crossover SUV Volvo XC90 Acura MDX
Best Midsize Truck Honda Ridgeline Toyota Tacoma
Best Full-Size Truck Toyota Tundra Ford F-150
Best Small Car Honda Civic Toyota Corolla
Best Luxury Small Car Lexus IS 350/300 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Best Midsize Car Honda Accord Toyota Camry
Best Luxury Midsize Car Lexus ES 350 Lexus GS 350
Best Large Car Toyota Avalon Dodge Charger
Best Luxury Large Car Audi A7 Acura RLX
Best Minivan Toyota Sienna Honda Odyssey
Best Wagon Subaru Impreza Kia Soul
Best Luxury Wagon Mercedes-Benz E-Class Volvo V60
Best Sports Car Ford Mustang Chevrolet Camaro
Best Luxury Sports Car Porsche 911 Chevrolet Corvette
Best Convertible Mazda MX-5 Miata Ford Mustang
Best Luxury Convertible Chevrolet Corvette Porsche 911
Best Electric Car Tesla Model S Tesla Model 3
Best Electric SUV Tesla Model X
Best Hybrid Car Toyota Prius Toyota Camry Hybrid
Best Luxury Hybrid Car Lexus ES 300h Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
Best Hybrid SUV Toyota Highlander Hybrid Subaru Crosstrek
Best Luxury Hybrid SUV Lexus RX 450h Lexus NX 300h

Click here to see which is the fastest-selling car in America.
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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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