TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 21, 2013 – Lexus earned top honors in two categories of U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 Best Cars for the Money awards for its outstanding value.  The RX 350 luxury utility vehicle received the Best Luxury 2-Row Midsize SUV for the Money while the RX 450h hybrid luxury utility vehicle won the Best Hybrid SUV for the Money.  This is the fifth year in a row that the RX 350 has won this award, while the RX 450h has received the top honor in its category for the past two years.

“We are very proud that the RX 350 and RX 450h won their segments in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 Best Car for the Money awards”, said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager.  “The RX created the luxury crossover category in 1998 and these awards show how Lexus continues to deliver industry leading quality at a great value to our customers.”

The Best Cars for the Money methodology combines quality and value data into a composite score.  Within each of 21 categories, the vehicle with the highest score is named the Best Car for the Money in that category.  Quality is measured by the overall score a vehicle achieved in the U.S. News car rankings at the time the awards are published.  The rankings, updated monthly at www.usnews.com/cars, compare cars on the basis of safety, reliability and a consensus of industry experts’ opinions.  Value is measured by a combination of a vehicle’s five-year total cost of ownership and the average price paid for the vehicle at the time the awards are published.  All 2013 winners are listed at http://usnews.com/cars-money.