CHICAGO, July 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used cars, today released the results of the 2013 Midsize SUV Challenge which put six of the most popular SUVs in the segment head-to-head in a series of tests to evaluate overall drive, features and capability. The six midsize SUVs tested were the 2013 Ford Edge, 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2014 Kia Sorento, 2013 Nissan Murano and 2013 Toyota Venza.

"A lot has changed in midsize SUVs in the last 10 years," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com's Editor-in-Chief. "What was once a class dominated by truck-based gas guzzlers has given way almost entirely to car-based models with many of the features that made SUVs popular, but offer improved ride and handling, fuel economy and interior space."

Experts from Cars.com, USA Today, "Motorweek", and a family representing the average midsize SUV buyer tested these six vehicles for fuel efficiency, practicality, driving ability, comfort and features.

Tests included:


    --  200 miles of driving on varying roads to test each SUV for real-world
        fuel economy
    --  One day of round-robin driving where each expert tested each SUV on the
        same route back-to-back to gather impressions
    --  A day of family testing where a family of four evaluated each of the six
        SUVs for comfort, family-friendly features, styling and ride quality

"After extensive testing, the Jeep Grand Cherokee took the top spot thanks to its luxurious interior, impressive multimedia system and overall driving capability," said Olsen. "The Grand Cherokee has been around for a long time, and was once considered a true, off-roading, truck-like SUV, but thanks to some serious refinement, today's incarnation of the Grand Cherokee edged out the other, very worthy, midsize SUV options available to shoppers."

For full details and results from the 2013 Cars.com/USA Today Midsize SUV Challenge, visit blogs.cars.com.

ABOUT CARS.COM
Cars.com is an award-winning online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Cars.com offers thousands of new and used vehicle listings, consumer reviews, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and many other tools. Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Cars.com