"Consumers tell us they prioritize factors such as reliability and safety when shopping for a car, but when it comes time to buy, very often a car’s styling or its image tips the decision," says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports.
That’s why it’s important to approach each new-car shopping experience with an open mind and use CR’s ratings to find the best-performing vehicles in the class and price range you’re considering. Our testing shows that some new cars outperform others you see on the road everywhere you go.
The top-selling Ford Explorer SUV is a perfect example of this. The original Explorer from 1991 helped pioneer an entire genre and defined midsized SUVs for decades. But the performance of the latest version can’t match that of the Kia Telluride, a CR Top Pick still in its first generation, which sells at a much smaller volume.
On paper, those two models seem similar. Even a brief test drive might not reveal much of a difference. But when we measured performance on our track and reviewed detailed reliability data from thousands of owners, the differences between the two SUVs were significant—as you can see reflected in their scores.
At CR, we rate and rank cars based on testing and what our members tell us in surveys. The cars that excel in all of the areas we examine earn the highest Overall Score. (Learn how Consumer Reports tests cars.)
To help guide you to better choices, we’ve selected some of the top-selling models (based on sales and registration data) in nine key categories and provide compelling alternatives that have a higher Overall Score.
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