Owner satisfaction

Which cars would owners buy again?

Last updated: November 2012

Here’s a hot tip: If you want a car that you can really get excited about, choose one that gives you great fuel economy, a fun driving experience, and/or luxurious surroundings. That’s the clear message from our latest owner-satisfaction survey, in which all of the 10 highest-scoring models feature one or more of those traits.

That list includes the top-scoring Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car, which gets the equivalent of 99 mpg when running on electric power, can go gas-free for about 35 miles, and earned the highest tally for the second straight year.

Among the 44 models that achieved our top owner-satisfaction rating, 10 were fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, diesels, and electric cars. Another 10 were purebred sports cars. And 13 were luxury or upscale models, with most of them delivering sporty handling, strong engine performance, or both.

Our annual owner-satisfaction survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, asks subscribers a single, revealing question: Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.), would they get their same vehicle if they had it to do all over again? This year, we received responses on about 350,000 vehicles and more than 240 models, spanning the 2010 through 2013 model years. A model’s score is based on the percentage of respondents who answered “definitely yes.” And to earn our top rating, a model needs to have at least 80 percent of owners say they would definitely get it again.