Which Car Brands Make the Best Vehicles?
We ranked 32 brands based on the Overall Scores of their models, which include road tests, reliability, satisfaction, and safety
Each year our brand rankings reflect the changes that inevitably come as automakers introduce new cars and fix problems in vehicles already on the market. For 2022, we saw a change at the very top, with Subaru moving ahead of Mazda to claim the title of best brand overall. Among the leaders, Audi saw the biggest leap up, climbing five places in the rankings. Acura made even greater gains, moving up 11 spots this year. Tesla dropped seven spots due to the difficult-to-use yoke steering wheel the automaker added to its Model S and Model X vehicles, affecting their road-test scores.
How We Rank the Car Brands
The Overall Score for individual models is based on four key factors: road test, reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety.
For the Road-Test Score, we put vehicles through more than 50 tests and evaluations. Predicted Reliability ratings are based on problems reported by members in 17 trouble areas in CR’s Annual Auto Surveys.
Owner Satisfaction predictions are based on whether CR members said in our surveys that they’d buy the same vehicle again if given the chance.
Safety includes an assessment of any available crash-test results and extra points awarded for vehicles that come with crash-prevention systems. Green Choices reflect how many of a brand’s CR-tested vehicles earned the designation for being among the cleanest, lowest emitting passenger vehicles.
Learn more about how Consumer Reports tests cars.
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