International Brands Dominate Consumer Reports’ Top Picks List
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By Marty Bernstein
AIADA Contributing Editor
Seven of the top ten vehicles reported in Consumer Reports annual April auto issue, on sale March 6, are manufactured by either Toyota or Honda. Over 250 different vehicles were evaluated based on scores received in 50 different tests of performance, comfort, convenience, safety, crash protection, fuel economy and reliability.
The top picks in the category determined by the publication are:
Budget Car
Honda Fit
Small Sedan
Honda Civic
Family Sedan
Honda Accord
Upscale Sedan
Infiniti G35
Luxury Sedan
Infiniti M35
Fun to Drive
Mazda Miata MX-5
Small SUV
Toyota RAV4
Midsized SUV
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Minivan
Toyota Sienna
Green Car
Toyota Prius
In the “Best & Worst” category, Consumer Reports highlighted four new or redesigned vehicles as most impressive. Three of the four are international brands: Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Entourage/Kia Sedona and Infiniti G35. The lone pick from the Detroit 3 was the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan.
Conversely, in the “Most Disappointing” classification only one international brand was named, the Toyota Yaris; the other three were the Dodge Caliber/Jeep Compass, Dodge Nitro and Chrysler Sebring.
In a section entitled, “Global Game: What is an American Car,” the publication listed Detroit 3 brand vehicles not built in the U.S. (which include 13 made in Mexico): Buick Rendevous, Cadillac Escalade ESV & EST, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet HHR, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Suburban, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Ram, Ford F-Series, Ford Fusion, GMC Yukon, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan. Six vehicles were built by international brands south of the border: Honda Accord, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Versa, Toyota Tacoma, Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen New Beetle.
Canada produces 18 models sold in the U.S. including seven from international brands: Acura MDX, Honda Civic, Honda Pilot, Honda Ridgeline, Lexus RX350, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Corolla.
Forty-six different vehicles from international brands are built in the U.S., including: Acura TL, BMW X5, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey, Hyundai Sonata, Infiniti QX56, Mazda 6, Mazda Tribute, Mercedes M-Class, Mercedes R-Class, Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Titan, Saab 9-7X, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna and Toyota Tundra.
The comprehensive annual edition also doled out to 17 different manufacturers automaker report cards, which detail the average scores of their vehicles in the publication’s tests, the percentage of recommended tested vehicles and comments about each brand. In all, 255 different vehicles were tested with 54 receiving recommendations – all of which were reported in a special section.