Today, vehicle cost analysis specialist IntelliChoice announced the winners of its 2012 Best Value of the Year award. The company crunches the numbers in the areas of depreciation, maintenance, repairs, fuel, fees, financing, and insurance in order to determine the winners, which are calculated to have the lowest total cost of ownership.
Fuel economy figured prominently among this year's crop of winners, with 5 of the 24 category winners being hybrid models. Other category winners are offered in hybrid trims, but the award was given to the overall model line, such as the Lexus RX and Toyota Highlander.
Toyota dominated this year's list with nine category winners for the Toyota brand, and 12 winners, when company's Lexus luxury brand is included. One notable newcomer to the list is the 2012 Toyota Prius v in the Crossover/Wagon category, which replaced another Toyota, the RAV4 four-cylinder, from the 2011 list. The complete list of winners is below. Among trucks and SUVs, the only non-Toyota models were the Chevrolet Tahoe, winner of the Full-Size SUV category, and the Infiniti FX35, winner of the Luxury Crossover/Wagon category.
| Class | Brand/Model |
| Compact Crossover/Wagon | Toyota Matrix |
| Compact Passenger Car | Honda Insight |
| Compact Pickup | Toyota Tacoma |
| Convertible MINI | Cooper Convertible |
| Crossover/Wagon | Toyota Prius v |
| Full-Size Crossover/Wagon | Toyota Highlander |
| Full-Size Pickup LD | Toyota Tundra |
| Full-Size SUV | Chevrolet Tahoe |
| Luxury Crossover/Wagon | Infiniti FX35 |
| Luxury Passenger Car | Infiniti M37 |
| Luxury Performance Car | Audi R8 |
| Minivan | Toyota Sienna |
| Passenger Car | Toyota Prius |
| Performance Car | Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible |
| Premium CompactCrossover/Wagon | Audi A3 |
| Premium Compact Passenger Car | Lexus CT 200h |
| Premium Convertible | Audi A5 Convertible |
| Premium Crossover/Wagon | Lexus RX |
| Premium Passenger Car | Buick LaCrosse 4cyl |
| Premium Performance Car | Chevrolet Corvette |
| Premium Sporty/Coupe | Audi A5 Coupe |
| Premium SUV | Lexus GX 460 |
| Sporty/Coupe | Toyota Yaris 2-Door Hatchback |
| SUV | Toyota FJ Cruiser |