2009 Road Trip Vehicles of the Year

Thule, a company that provides transportation solutions for leisure or professional use, announced yesterday their 2009 Road Trip Vehicles of the Year. These awards are for automobiles both above and below the $30,000 range that combine utility and gas mileage with safety and conveniences for a family or group of four planning a road trip.

"The ranking system takes into effect what a family of four would be looking for in a vehicle as they head out on their summer road trip. We evaluated each vehicle based on 10 unique criteria. Each category was given a specific point value and consisted of styling, storage, gas mileage, size, cost, number of cup holders and speakers, warranty, entertainment options, safety and comfort. Extra points were given to vehicles that were fun to drive or offered four-wheel or all-wheel drive. From there the numbers helped to choose the winners," commented Karl Wiedemann, Thule's PR and Communications Manager in a release.

In the under $30,000 category, the 2009 Thule Road Trip Vehicle of the Year is named the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI. The vehicle has a gas mileage rating of 30 mpg city and 41 mpg highway, and it can go more than 600 miles without refueling.

On the other hand, in the over $30,000 category, Thule chose Ford Flex Limited AWD as the 2009 Road Trip Vehicle of the Year. The vehicle’s as ambient lighting, rear refrigerator/freezer, seating for seven and panoramic sunroof scored high in Thule’s testing.

Thule is an US based manufacturer of transportation accessories with production sites in Seymour, Connecticut, Chicago, Illinois, Perry, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia. Thule's extensive product line features multi-purpose roof racks, roof top boxes, rear mount racks, truck boxes, side steps and accessories for transporting and organizing outdoor equipment (Thule), professional contractor equipment (Thule Professional and UWS) and recreational vehicles (Thule SMART RV).