Would You Buy Your Car Again?

Our subscribers know what they want: everything. They want fun cars with a touch of luxury that do what's expected.

That's what we found in Consumer Reports' annual owner-satisfaction survey, covering 350,000 vehicles from one to three years old.

We asked subscribers whether they would get the same car all over again, and to consider attributes such as styling, comfort, features, cargo space, fuel economy, maintenance and repair costs, overall value, and driving dynamics. Owners of a sporty, luxurious, or fuel-efficient hybrid or electric- or diesel-powered vehicle were most likely to answer "definitely yes."

With a single model that checks all of those boxes, Tesla Motors has built a rabid following since the car's 2012 launch, reflected in 98 percent of Model S owners saying they would definitely purchase it again. Not only is the Tesla roomy, comfortable, and a lot of fun to drive, but it also has low operating costs—returning the equivalent of 84 mpg (a consolation, of sorts, for the car's $90,000-plus as-tested price).

Next-most-satisfying were four sports cars: The Chevrolet Corvette and a trio of German models from Stuttgart—the Porsche Cayman, Boxster, and 911.

Rounding out the top 10 were the Mercedes-­Benz E250 BlueTec diesel, Porsche Cayenne SUV, BMW 328d (another diesel), muscular Dodge Challenger V8, and Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.

The unhappy car owner is rarer than you might think: Of the 280-plus models in our survey, only four vehicles had less than 50 percent of owners who would "definitely" purchase the car again.

Across all vehicles, the average satisfaction rate was about 70 percent.

And it seems our subscribers agree with our recommendations: All but two of the top 10 vehicles are "recommended" in Consumer Reports' overall Ratings of cars we tested. The exceptions: the Porsche Cayman, which we haven't tested, and the Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec, which doesn't have sufficient reliability data.

Visit our complete guide to car reliability and owner satisfaction.

When given a choice between traditional gas engines and alternative powertrains, owners rank hybrids, electric cars, and diesels as the most satisfying choices in almost every category in which they compete. The Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius topped our lists of compact cars, with 85 and 82 percent, respectively, of buyers saying they would buy those cars again. Among midsized sedans, the Honda Accord Hybrid and Ford Fusion Energi led the pack.

Fuel-efficient diesels also proved popular. The Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec diesel finished second to the Tesla among fuel-efficient cars, and 86 percent of BMW 328d buyers would buy another. Volkswagen's Passat, Beetle, and Jetta diesel variants also ranked high in their categories. In the pickup-truck category, all of the top scorers have diesel engines.

As far as fuel economy, it's all about meeting expectations. Owners were as happy with Chevrolet Corvettes as with four-­cylinder Nissan Altimas. People recognize what they are getting into; less than 10 percent of owners felt OK about their thirsty Nissan Titans and Ford heavy-duty pickups.

SUV buyers expressed a preference for spacious, capable vehicles that are pleasant to drive, easy to see out of, and as efficient as possible. That includes the Porsche Cayenne (87 percent) in luxury SUVs, Subaru Forester (83) among small SUVs, Toyota Highlander V6 (82) in midsized SUVs, and Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and their GMC twins (84) in large SUVs.

You might think that more cargo space would be more satisfying. But it's more about perceptions. The smartly packaged Tesla was considered just as satisfying as beasts of burden such as the Suburban and Yukon XL. Hybrids with batteries that rob space in the trunk were the biggest disappointments. Only 18 percent of owners were very satisfied with the space in the Honda Accord Hybrid and just 7 percent with the Ford Fusion Energi.

But it turns out that prestige can take a backseat to value. Hyundai Equus buyers felt the most satisfied, with 88 percent saying they got what they expected for the price. Corvette owners felt they were getting exotic-­car performance at a relatively budget price. But those who own the Range Rover Evoque, Mini Countryman, Infiniti QX70, and various iterations of the BMW 3 Series found the least value for their money—those models satisfied barely 50 percent of owners.

For related information about reliable and affordable used models read "The best used cars for under $20,000."

Luxury cars are more satisfying on the whole, our subscribers report. When we broke down owner-satisfaction results by brand, the six most satisfying makes were all luxury brands, led by Tesla. Perhaps it's no surprise, too, that Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Jaguar owners felt that they've made it and bought the car of their dreams.

The top-scoring mainstream brands were Subaru, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Honda, Chevrolet, and Mazda.

Not all luxury brands proved very satisfying; Cadillac, Acura, and Infiniti all ranked in the ­bottom half. The least satisfying brands were Buick, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Mitsubishi.

*Data based on one model year only.

Owner-satisfaction results based on the average score across all model lines.