Best and Worst Car Brands According to Consumer Reports
Five of the top 10 worst car makes are FCA brands.
Consumer Reports has done its homework to figure out the best and worst car brands sold in the U.S. It used data from its own testing along with owner satisfaction and predicted reliability to compile a list of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Brands with generous standard safety tech also got a boost in their scores. Here are the top 10.
- Genesis
- Audi
- BMW
- Lexus
- Porsche
- Kia
- Subaru
- Tesla
- Honda
- Toyota
As usual on lists like these, the top spots are occupied by luxury brands. Hyundai’s luxury brand Genesis has taken the top spot from Audi partly because Genesis only has two models and “had less to get right,” according to CR. However, that doesn’t lessen the fact that people who drive Genesis luxury sedans love them and they’re just plain good.
Now, let’s take a look at the top 10 worst brands according to Consumer Reports, number one being the worst.
- Fiat
- Jeep
- Land Rover
- Alfa Romeo
- Mitsubishi
- Jaguar
- GMC
- Dodge
- Ram
- Mini
That’s a whole lot of FCA. Brands that are part of the Fiat-Chrysler conglomerate account for half of the list of 10 worst brands (Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Ram). It’s possible that it has something to do with a few shared platforms like the Jeep Renegade/Fiat 500X, but is that little crossover really that bad? It also probably doesn’t help that the Dodge and Ram lineups have been getting long in the tooth and falling behind the competition, no matter how big of a supercharger gets slapped onto the decade-old Challenger.
Despite FCA’s lousy report card, it’s worth noting that the Chrysler brand jumped to the number 11 spot on the list just barely missing the top 10. That’s mostly because of positive road tests and high owner satisfaction of the Pacifica minivan.
Did your car make either of these lists? Do your feelings about your car match up with Consumer Reports’ data?
