Consumer Reports has released its annual Top 10 Picks list, which it characterizes as “the best cars, SUVs, and trucks our experts recommend without hesitation.”
Though CR ranks Subaru highest among auto brands, the company builds just one car CR found best in its class. Nissan, despite placing 15th overall, won two. The Nissan Rogue Sport, an aging small SUV that gets little love from most reviewers, beat out all other subcompact SUVs.
Numerous organizations rank the best cars. CR’s approach is unique, in that it not only performs road tests, but also surveys its members about their satisfaction with the cars they own. This approach has benefits and limitations. It gives an in-depth look at the ownership experience for some cars. But it also omits many, as CR readers don’t own enough of many vehicles for them to earn a rating.
CR only considers vehicles that include forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection as standard equipment on all trim levels.
This year, the publication also awarded extra points to vehicles that have driver aids like adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance that include driver attention monitoring. Car safety watchdogs like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and AAA are increasingly calling attention to driver attention monitors this year, warning that driver aids do little to make driving safer and some attention monitors are inadequate.
CR skips many luxury categories, and didn’t pick a best large truck this year “because they lack key safety features on base models or have below-average reliability.”
Winners:
Small Car: Nissan Sentra
Subcompact SUV: Nissan Rogue Sport
Small SUV: Subaru Forester
Midsize Sedan: Honda Accord
Hybrid: Toyota Prius and Prius Prime
Two-Row SUV: Toyota RAV4 Prime
Three-Row SUV: Kia Telluride
Compact Pickup*: Honda Ridgeline
Electric Vehicle: Ford Mustang Mach-E
Luxury SUV: Lexus RX
*CR calls this category “compact pickup” despite the fact that the Ridgeline is midsize. Until this year, there were no true compact pickups on the U.S. market, causing some publications to treat midsize trucks as compact. Now that there are two true small trucks – the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick – this category may change.
