EVs, hybrids score big for Consumer Reports
Electrified vehicles – hybrids, plug-in hybrids and 100% electric vehicles – got a ringing endorsement from Consumer Reports, holding down seven of 10 places on the magazine’s coveted list of top automotive picks for 2024.
U.S.-based brands build two – the Ford Maverick hybrid pickup and Tesla Y compact electric sedan – while Toyota produces four, Subaru two, and BMW and Mazda one each.
“Hybrids are back,” said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing. “The big news is hybrids and plug-in hybrids.”
The praise for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) may come as a surprise after the magazine singled them out for criticism last fall in its survey of vehicle reliability.
That’s because not all PHEVs are created equal, Fisher explained. The vehicles, which have a bigger battery than regular hybrids to go farther on electricity, are more complicated, but some also are built by brands that attain high quality on nearly everything they build, he said, mentioning Toyota, Hyundai and Kia by name.
“The top PHEVs are from automakers that build reliable vehicles of all types,” Fisher said.
“We looked for the 10 best vehicles across the industry, and, lo and behold, there are more hybrids and EVs than internal combustion vehicles.”
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What’s missing?
Consumer Reports reworked the way it evaluates PHEVs and EVs this year to reflect the fact that sales of both are increasing. EV registrations increased 53% in 2023, according to S&P Global Mobility.
Unlike many other vehicle rankings, CR doesn’t pick a vehicle in every segment of the market, or even all the biggest ones. This year, for instance, there’s no full-size pickup, minivan or large SUV on the list – three vehicle types many people rely on.
CR tries to call out vehicles in the classes that fit the most people, Fisher said, but it won’t lower its standards if nothing in a class meets its standards for reliability.
Reliability scores are based entirely on CR’s annual survey of its members. It gets reports on 300,000 vehicles. It includes both new vehicles and those that have been on the market for years. That reflects the fact that quality slips for even top-rated vehicles when automakers introduce a new model.
The vehicles’ scores include CR’s road tests, safety features, reliability and satisfaction.
This year’s report card is not great news for US brands
The magazine also rated brands for which it tested enough vehicles to get a meaningful sample, including at least two models from a brand. It only tested one vehicle each from Lucid, Polestar and Ram, so they aren’t among the 34 brands ranked this year.
BMW finished No. 1 overall, Jeep last. Subaru was
Subaru Crosstrek Toyota Prius/Prius Prime Subaru Forester
Mazda 3
Toyota Camry hybrid
Ford Maverick/Maverick hybrid Tesla Y
Toyota Highlander hybrid BMW X5/X5 PHEV
Toyota RAV4 Prime the top mainstream brand, and No. 2 overall. The highest ranked U.S.-based brand was Buick, at No. 13
Three other U.S.-based brands rated in the top half, in order: No. 14 Cadillac, No. 17 Ford and No. 18 Tesla.
“Our brand rankings look at vehicles as a whole at the brand level, and not just a single factor,” Fisher said.
CR doesn’t test every vehicle from every brand, but it recommends every one it tested.