Most and Least Loved Car Brands
The rankings are based on Consumer Reports' owner satisfaction survey
The average brand satisfaction based on survey responses from Consumer Reports members can guide shoppers to make more informed choices when deciding which new cars to consider.
This year the EV automaker Rivian, with its R1S and R1T, takes Tesla’s former perch at the top of our brand satisfaction list. It’s joined by a number of other luxury automakers frequently found in the top 10, including BMW, Porsche, Tesla, Genesis, and Lexus, along with the mainstream automakers Subaru, Ram, and Honda. The biggest move up the list came from Mini, which jumped 11 spots to number 2.
- Owner Satisfaction: Tops in Comfort, Fuel Economy & More How We Rate Satisfaction
Tops in Comfort, Fuel Economy & More
We’ve broken out our data to show which brands satisfy owners the most in specific areas, including comfort, driving, cabin storage, in-cabin experience and usability, and ownership cost. Use these lists to find out which brands score highly in the qualities you care about the most. Then focus your search on brands that did well—and skip those that did poorly.
Remember that owner satisfaction reflects whether a car meets a customer’s expectations. The most satisfying cars aren’t necessarily the best on the market, and vice versa.
How We Rate Satisfaction
Results are from the 2023 Annual Auto Surveys, involving more than 330,000 vehicles. Data from the 2021 to 2023 model years (plus a few 2024 models) were averaged, provided a vehicle wasn’t significantly changed over that time. Some ratings might be based on a single model year. The owner satisfaction score is based on the percentage of owners who responded “definitely yes” to the question of whether they would buy the same vehicle if they had to do it all over again (considering price, performance, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.). Ratings and scores for the factors were determined based on the percentage of owners who said they were very satisfied.
Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the March 2024 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
