Consumer Reports picks Genesis as top car brand
In the pantheon of luxury carmakers, Hyundai Motor Co doesn’t usually come to mind. But the Korean company’s Genesis line beat out German rivals to be named 2018’s best car brand in the United States by Consumer Reports.
In its debut year, Hyundai’s luxury line bumped Volkswagen AG’s Audi from top billing to the No. 2 spot, with premium mainstays BMW, Toyota Motor Corp’s Lexus and VW’s Porsche rounding out the top five. South Korea’s Kia snagged sixth place, ahead of Subaru, Tesla, Honda and Toyota.
In fairness to its foes, the Genesis brand had only two models — the G80 and G90 sedans — up for review by the magazine, while Audi and BMW each fielded eight.
Still, Genesis’s win reflects steady improvement by Korean automakers over the years, first in the arena of reliability and fuel economy, and now in performance and luxury features, according to Jake Fisher, the magazine’s director of auto testing.
Dead last in J.D. Power’s quality surveys in 1994, Hyundai spent years as fodder for late-night comedians. But the carmaker and Kia are no longer seen as builders of cheap, utilitarian urban cars, with both automakers now ranking among the highest in J.D. Power’s annual vehicle dependability study.
“They have over the years checked every one of these boxes and they’re really building very competitive vehicles,” Fisher said of the Korean carmakers. “It’s really going to happen for Genesis once we see luxury SUVs, because the luxury market is all about SUVs — that’s where the volume is.”
The rankings, released on Thursday, are published in the magazine’s annual auto issue and help influence American car buyers when they head to the dealership.
Consumer Reports is an influential source for product recommendations because it doesn’t accept advertising, and buys the cars it tests and evaluates for driving, interior-finish quality, safety and reliability.
The report card, covering 34 auto brands, aggregates information about every individual model reviewed, as well as results from satisfaction surveys submitted by subscribers.
Here are some other key takeaways from this year’s standings:
At No. 8, Tesla remained the highest-rated American auto brand. But it doesn’t make the best electric car. That honour went to General Motor Co’s all-electric Chevrolet Bolt, which won in the new Compact Green Car category.
The Toyota brand continued to rule the top car picks, with its models winning four categories — more than any other automaker. The Toyota Corolla was the best compact car, the Camry the best midsize car, the Highlander the best midsize SUV and the Sienna the best minivan, according to the rankings.
Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand won the US luxury sales crown for two years running and got a good head start on 2018 last month. But BMW is still trouncing its German rival in Consumer Reports rankings, with BMW in third place and Mercedes in 15th. BMW’s X3, meanwhile, was the magazine’s top pick for compact luxury SUV.