Popularity is always a thorny subject, because you can ask 100 people the same question, but will most likely get wildly differing answers. This certainly applies to the car world, with there being so many brands out there. Yet finding out which are the most liked and disliked cars is still something we all find interesting. Consumer Reports feel the same way, so they have compiled a list ranking some of the most liked and disliked car brands according to their owners. This ranking might well help anyone out there who is after a new car for 2021, and the results might well surprise you.
The Most Liked Car Brands
The full list is linked in the intro, but we will go through the top and bottom of the list and highlight how these rankings were sorted. Starting at the top, and it may or may not surprise you to learn that Tesla came out as the victors. The pandemic has certainly seen a surge in electric car sales, which might slightly explain this rise. When it comes to value, Tesla is oddly only scored as a 1 out of 5.
Overall, Tesla scored 88 with Lincoln and Ram on 79 and 76 respectively, with all three taking a 5 out of 5 for the driving experience. And while Tesla and Lincoln scored very well for owner satisfaction, they were near the bottom when it came to reliability. Great cars, but perhaps it shows that we are still very much in the early days regarding electric technology. Honorable mentions must go to Chrysler and Subaru, who were well in the top five. So, what about those at the lower end of the scoreboard?
The Least Liked Car Brands
Quite surprisingly, Ford is closer to the bottom of the rankings than they are at the top, scoring a pretty average 70 and again fairing badly in terms of overall value, earning just a 1 out of 5. Also near the bottom is Chevrolet with just 65 and only a 3 out of 5 rating for comfort.
Further down the list is Cadillac, and Infiniti coming in at the very bottom spot with an awful score of 48. Cadillac did not fair well at all when it came to owner satisfaction either. Infiniti is perhaps a surprise as they are the luxury Nissan brand, but also equally maybe not given that Nissan is actually second-to-last in the rankings. Infiniti scored just a 1 out of 5 for both in-car electronics and value, while driving was a pretty average 3 out of 5 compared to Tesla’s 5 out of 5.
How Consumer Reports Came Up With Its Rankings
How did Consumer Reports come up with these results? Well, they asked owners whether they would happily buy the same car again if they were given the opportunity. So those Tesla owners would probably buy a Tesla again, be it a Model S or Model X. The results were then sorted according to the car brand, and Consumer Reports then calculated an overall brand average.
One thing to note is that these are the brands that satisfy or dissatisfy customers the most, not necessarily the best or worst car companies on the market. This is all a matter of personal opinion. These brands have also been ranked by Consumer Reports in their own test drive scores, with safety, reliability, and a road test score all given.
Source: Consumer Reports