Which Car Brands Have the Highest Road-Test Scores?
With data from more than 50 tests conducted by Consumer Reports, our ratings reveal which automakers create the best all-around driving experience
With more than 270 new cars, SUVs, and trucks on the market, buying the right vehicle can be a monumental challenge. We can help. Consumer Reports purchases more than 40 cars every year, and we put each one through a multiweek process in which our experts conduct more than 50 tests and evaluations. The result is a single composite score—the road-test score—that encapsulates all of our findings. That score, along with our comprehensive written review, is available only to CR members.
Car Brands Ranked by Road-Test Score
How CR Conducts Road Tests
The experts at CR’s 327-acre Auto Test Center study the market to identify the new models and specific trim levels that will be most relevant to car buyers in the U.S. We then spend more than $2.2 million each year buying cars anonymously, as soon as they go on sale, to test.
We purchase cars from dealerships rather than buying from automakers or relying solely on vehicles that manufacturers lend us. This helps us purchase vehicles that tend to be most popular, and we can avoid testing vehicles that have had special preparations. This also ensures that our testers have the full car-buying experience, the same as any other customer.
Before we begin instrumented testing on our 6 miles of track, we drive each vehicle at least 2,000 miles. This gives the engine, tires, and brakes time to break in. Next, our mechanics inspect the vehicles before testing, doing alignments and other work to make sure that they’re problem-free and that the test results will be relevant and repeatable.
Our experts—many with specialties based on graduate work and employment at major automakers—then conduct a series of tests, including those for acceleration, braking, ride, handling, and accident avoidance. To test fuel economy, we use a fuel meter spliced into the fuel line to get precise, independent results. We also evaluate interior space, measure cargo room, and assess controls and infotainment systems. These findings add up to a road-test score, allowing us to rank vehicles by class and compare brands based strictly on performance. For electric vehicles, we also measure driving range, review the ease of charging, measure charging rates, and evaluate the helpfulness of apps and route planning.
To create a vehicle’s Overall Score, we combine the road-test score with reliability and owner satisfaction survey results. The result is an even more comprehensive but still succinct rating for a vehicle.
You can see the detailed test results, in numbers and words, for any tested vehicle on its model page. The quickest way to find that is to search at the top of CR.org/cars or in our Ratings A-Z interactive chart.
Learn more about how Consumer Reports tests cars.
