'

Sunday, May 03, 2009

pwfm Men & Cars

Consumer Reports best models of the year in 10 categories

Last reviewed: April 2009

Of the more than 300 vehicles Consumer Reports recently tested, their Top Picks are the best all-around choices in their categories. This year's list includes two new models: The Toyota Highlander is their new pick for midsized SUVs, unseating the Hyundai Santa Fe. And thanks to improved reliability, the Chevrolet Avalanche replaced the Chevrolet Silverado as Consumer Reports choice for pickups. See full Ratings, reliability and data on all Top Picks in their model overviews.

How top pics are chosen

Top Picks must meet criteria in three areas:

Safety

Top Picks must perform adequately in overall safety if tested by the government or the insurance industry. (For some models, there's not enough crash-test data to assign an overall safety Rating.) In addition, each must offer electronic stability control (ESC), a proven lifesaving safety feature, as standard equipment or as a readily available option.

Road tests

Vehicles must rank at or near the top of their categories in overall road-test score, which includes more than 50 individual tests and evaluations.

Reliability

Each must have an average or better predicted-reliability Rating, which is based on the problems Consumer Reports subscribers reported for more than 1.4 million vehicles in latest Annual Auto Survey.

See video guide on how Consumer Reports' test cars.

No comments:

Post a Comment