Kelley Blue Book picks coolest vehicles under $18K

Cool doesn't have to be expensive. At least that's what the folks over at Kelley Blue Book figure. The website of the authoritative car-buying resource has put together a list of what they figure are the ten coolest cars you can buy with less than $18,000.

[Source: Autoblog via Kelley Blue Book]

Continued- Article, full list

There are some definite good choices on the list, but some of their choices – and how they arrived at them – leave us scratching our heads and wondering if their cool-meter doesn't need recalibration. Rather than taking the entirely subjective Top Gear "Cool Wall" approach and anointing a car cool or not based purely on image, KBB.com came up with a list of criteria. A cool car, they figure, should have folding seats. Huh? Yeah, versatility was their first criteria, including such features as "clever cubbies and innovative storage solutions" as a prerequisite for classifying a car as cool or not. (That way you've got more places to hide your coolness.) Also taken into consideration were such factors as safety, fuel economy and cabin space, before subjective assessments came into the mix.

The resulting list includes a Chevy pick-up at the top, followed by a Focus, a tiny Honda, an Hyundai, a Jeep, a Mazda3, a Nissan hatch, a Scion, a Suzuki and a VW. Each was included in the sub-$18k list based on Kelley's own proprietary blue-book value.

-2007 Chevrolet Silverado Classic (Regular Cab Manual WT)- $17,015
-2007 Ford Focus SES 2-Door Hatchback- $16,180
-2007 Honda Fit- $14,445
-2007 Hyundai Tiburon- $17,295
-2007 Jeep Patriot- $14,985
-2007 Mazda MAZDA3- $18,175
-2007 Nissan Versa- $13,075
-2007 Scion tC- $16,980
-2007 Suzuki SX4- $17,124
-2007 Volkswagen Rabbit- $15,630

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