Subaru Suddenly Loses KBB’s Best Mainstream Brand to Toyota; Which Brand Belongs in Your Garage?

The past two years, Subaru has been Kelly Blue Book’s Best Mainstream Brand when it comes to resale value, but not anymore. They lost their top spot to Toyota in 2017. Why did they slip? The Toyota brand has returned after a two year hiatus after Subaru was number in KBB’s top resale value. This year, KBB gave the nod to Toyota Motor Corp because three of the top five Best Resale Values for 2017 belong to them. Subaru only has the 2017 Subaru WRX in the Top Ten models for resale value.

Subaru has been proud of getting the Best Overall Brand award from KBB for 2015-2016 and still advertises the fact on their Subaru of America awards page. And even though they have slipped with Kelly Blue Book, Subaru is still the 2017 Top Brand for Residual Value according to ALG.

KBB vs ALG awards

In KBB’s Best Value Brands 2017, Subaru has three vehicles that win their individual categories when it comes to retaining their value better than all others. The 2017 Subaru WRX performance sedan, 2017 Impreza compact and 2017 Legacy sedan. According to ALG, they stacked six of their all-wheel-drive vehicles on their top list. ALG gave the top spots to the Subaru Forester SUV, Outback wagon, Crosstrek crossover, WRX performance car, Impreza compact and Legacy sedan. All beat the competition in their respective categories.

It shows that it’s not an exact science when it comes to resale evaluation by these automotive “experts.” Both KBB and ALG claim to have the “best research and analysis process in the industry.” They both take into account current vehicle data, sales data, market conditions for each vehicle, competition within vehicle segments, and expectations of the future economy to come up with the evaluations. But they also come up with different results.

Which brand belongs in your garage?

According to Kelly Blue Book, Toyota is now the number one mainstream brand when it comes to resale value. ALG says Subaru is the top brand in America. The 2017 Subaru WRX, 2017 Impreza and 2017 Legacy score number one in their respective categories with KBB. All of Subaru’s vehicles expect the BRZ sports coupe are number one with ALG. Who’s right? Both are credible sources for resale evaluation, and both Toyota and Subaru vehicles hold their value better than other brands. Which brand belongs in your garage? Buy the vehicle that best suits your needs. You can't go wrong with either when it comes time to sell.

Photo credit: Subaru