Edmunds.com vs. Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports recently named the 2009 Toyota Prius as "the best new-car value" among the 300 vehicles evaluated by the magazine's staff.

Edmunds.com, the online car shopping and data site, begs to differ.

In a rare public display of intra-industry acrimony, Santa Monica-based Edmunds.com issued a news release this week warning that CR's ranking of best new-car values and its crowning of the Prius hybrid as best in show "could lead cost-conscious shoppers astray."

"The Prius is a lot of cool things, but 'value' is not something that pops into mind," Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl said in an interview. "If you're buying a Prius to save money, you're going to be in for a shock."

According to Edmunds.com's proprietary "true cost of ownership" yardstick, the No. 1 vehicle in terms of after-purchase costs is the Honda Civic DX-VP. Edmunds.com calculates the Civic's five-year ownership cost at $29,037. That was much less than the $37,079 cost for the top-of-the-line Prius Touring model, which the site ranked 41st. The less elaborately equipped Prius Standard model fared better in the survey, ranking 17th with a five-year total ownership cost of $33,848.

The cost of ownership, as defined by both Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports, doesn't include what you actually pay for a vehicle. It measures all the additional direct and indirect costs -- such as depreciation, fuel costs, insurance and repairs -- paid by a new-car buyer over a given period of time.

In compiling their rankings, Edmunds.com and CR used national averages to compute insurance rates, gas prices and other expenses. Edmunds.com's free website (www.edmunds.com) will calculate ownership costs based on individual ZIP Codes. The Consumer Reports website (www.consumerreports.com -- most info. available only to subscribers) doesn't provide that option.