Consumer Reports just released their annual car brands list. According to it, the best cars for 2013 are manufactured by Japanese companies.
Japanese Triumph
The first spot is occupied by Lexus. The company received 79 points out of the total 100 not because of the power of its cars, but because of their reliability. The second and third spots are taken by Subaru and Mazda which also did well in the rankings. All in all, there are eight Japanese car brands in the top ten list.
US Fall
The last positions of the chart are taken by American manufacturers which could not reach the best ten this year. With its 14th spot, Cadillac scores highest from the US car brands. The company received a big push forward thanks to its highly evaluated sedan automobiles. At the very bottom of the ranking is Dodge and before it are another two American companies – Jeep and Lincoln. In addition, Ford could not even make it to the rankings due to issues with its turbocharged engines, as well as with its control interfaces called MyFord Touch. This is a big miss for Ford since over the last year the company managed to present very nice new models. Despite that, the manufacturer still received some praise for its C-Max and Fusion Hybrid.
European Ups and Downs
The situation with European car brands was also not good. European car companies could not compete with their Japanese rivals, especially in terms of reliability. However, two brands from Europe managed to enter the top ten and disrupt the Japanese dominance. Those were Audi, which took the 8th position, and Mercedes-Benz, which was placed on the 10th spot.
Among the low-achievers were also companies like Mini and Volkswagen.
Category Rankings
In the category rankings, Honda impressed by topping the small sporty-utility, mid-sized car and minivan charts with its models CR-V, 2013 Honda Accord and Odyssey, respectively.
In the category Best Green Car, Toyota Prius managed to shine again. Prius is a winner in this ranking for 10 years in a roll. That is because of the car’s unprecedented economy of fuel rates.
Consumer Reports selected a European model among the best in the category Best Luxury Cars – Audi A6. BMW 328i was picked as the leader among the sport sedans because of its fuel economy rates and handling combination.
There were also some interesting categories like Best Compact Cars, which was topped by Subaru Impreza, and Best Budget Cars, which was headed by Hyundai’s Elantra.
Consumer Reports will reveal the full rankings in April, but we can offer you a sneak peak.
Best Car Brands:
- Lexus
- Subaru
- Mazda
- Toyota
- Acura
- Honda
- Scion
- Audi
- Infiniti
- Mercedes-Benz
Category Rankings:
Electric Cars, Limited Range: Best: Ford Focus Electric. Worst: Mitsubishi i SE
Minivans: Best: Honda Odyssey EX-L. Worst: Dodge Grand Caravan R/T
Sedans, Large: Best: Chrysler 300 Limited. Worst: Ford Taurus Limited
Sedans, Midsized: Best: Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE. Worst: Dodge Avenger SXT
Sedans, Subcompact: Best: Kia Rio EX. Worst: Nissan Versa SV
Sedans, Compact: Best: Subaru Impreza Premium. Worst: Volkswagen Jetta SE
Luxury Sedans, Large: Best: Lexus LS 460L. Worst: Fisker Karma EcoSport
Luxury Sedans, Midsized: Best: Audi A6 3.0 Premium Plus Quattro. Worst: Lincoln MKS
Luxury Sedans, Compact: Best: Infiniti G37 Journey. Worst: Lexus CT 200h Premium
Hatchbacks, Subcompact: Best: Honda Fit Sport. Worst: Smart for Two Passion
Hatchbacks/Wagons, Compact: Best: Volkswagen Golf TDI. Worst: Mini Cooper Clubman
Sports Cars, High-Performance: Best: BMW 135i. Worst: Chevrolet Camaro 2LT
Sporty Cars: Best: Volkswagen GTI. Worst: Honda CR-Z EX
Sports Cars, Convertibles, Four-Seat: Best: Volkswagen Eos Lux. Worst: Fiat 500C Pop
Sports Cars, Roadsters: Best: Porsche Boxster 2.7. Worst: BMW Z4 sDrive28i
SUVs, Large: Best: Chevrolet Traverse LT. Worst: GMC Yukon Hybrid
SUVs, Midsized: Best: Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited. Worst: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
SUVs, Small: Best: Ford Escape Titanium. Worst: Jeep Compass Latitude
Luxury SUVs, Large: Best: Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec. Worst: Cadillac Escalade
Luxury SUVs, Midsized: Best: Lexus RX 450h. Worst: Volvo XC90 3.2
Luxury SUVs, Compact: Best: BMW X3 xDrive28i. Worst: Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Pure
Pickups, Heavy-Duty Diesel: Best: Chevrolet Silverado 2500 LTZ. Worst: Ram 2500 Laramie
Pickups, Full-Sized: Best: Toyota Tundra SR5. Worst: Nissan Titan SV
Pickups, Compact: Best: Honda Ridgeline RTS. Worst: Toyota Tacoma
