Consumer Report Best Hybrid Cars – Hybrids and Tesla’s Model 3 got a lot of Valentine’s Day love from Consumer Reports, as their low operating costs and reliable charging network earned them seven of the 10 spots on the magazine’s list of the most influential vehicles for cars, trucks and SUVs. 2023 year.
The list had very little good news for American automakers: only the Tesla 3 EV hybrid pickup and the Ford Maverick made the cut. CR selects its top vehicles and brands based on vehicle tests, safety features and reader ratings for safety and satisfaction
Consumer Report Best Hybrid Cars
Vehicles powered only by internal combustion engines fared almost as poorly as American brands: only three – the Toyota Corolla, Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride – made the cut.
These Are Consumer Reports Five Best Hybrid Suvs For Great Mpg
This was the first year that CR achieved hybrids separately from internal combustion engine, or ICE, versions of the same vehicles.
“There are many hybrids available now. They’re phenomenally efficient and don’t require the compromise on range or charging time” that comes with electric vehicles, said CR director of automotive testing Jake Fisher. “And some of them are faster and have better reliability” than their ICE equivalents.
Eight, in a row – no. 12 Buicks; No. 15-17 Dodge, Lincoln and Tesla; no. 22-25 Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Chrysler – earned a green arrow or two heading up.
However, foreign brands took the top 11 spots, led by the first no. 1 ending. Last year’s leader Subaru dropped to second place. We all want to save gas. We can do it by driving less, driving smarter or launching a fuel-efficient hybrid SUV. Hybrids are good at saving fuel because their electric motors provide an electric boost when you need it. Consumer Reports ranked these five as the best gas-efficient hybrid SUVs, and with today’s gas prices, you can start saving on your first road trip.
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Hybrids are good for gas mileage, especially around town. Because of their electric drivetrain, many hybrids get better gas mileage in stop-and-go traffic than they do on the highway, which is the opposite of SUVs and gas cars. Plug-ins get even better mileage because they can go several miles on electricity alone. For example, the 2022 Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid can drive up to 31 miles on electric power alone, with virtually no gas. Keep in mind, though, that while four-wheel drive is good for towing, you usually pay a premium in fuel economy for it.
According to FuelEconomy.gov, the $41,550 2022 Lexus NX SUV gets a combined rating of 39 mpg and 41 mpg in the city and 37 on the highway. The NX is Lexus’ all-new hybrid SUV and the brand’s new entry-level SUV. It’s based on the RAV4, but there’s not a lot of RAV4 showing in this luxury SUV. It’s a thicker new Lexus, with an even bigger grille and the new Lexus Interface multimedia system.
The 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe gets 34 mpg combined, with ratings of 36 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. Hyundai may be Korean, but Hyundai makes $34,300 in Alabama. It combines one of Hyundai’s most modern interiors with some SUV features like a 2,000-pound towing capacity, a large standard eight-inch touchscreen, and various driver aids. Although it’s billed as a rugged SUV with great gas mileage, it’s the only one on the list that doesn’t have a Consumer Reports “recommended” brand, and it depreciates quickly.
According to FuelEconomy.gov, the $39,555 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid gets 36 mpg combined, with ratings of 26 in the city and 35 on the highway. It’s up 1mpg for the Hybrid AWD model, but it has Toyota’s clever all-wheel drive that ditches the complicated powertrain and instead just stuffs an electric motor in the back. Highlanders are popular new and used because they are larger than others on this list. Highlanders have a third row and can be equipped as comfortable almost luxury vehicles.
Best Hybrid And Electric Vehicles Of 2023
The $28,045 Honda CR-V Hybrid comes standard with all-wheel drive and gets a combined rating of 38 and 40 mpg city and 35 mpg highway. The CR-V is known for having a large interior with best-in-class trunk space, good handling, and quick acceleration. The CR-V gets a 2023 update, so 2022 versions may be available for less at your local dealer.
The RAV4 also comes standard with four-wheel drive. It gets 40 mpg combined, with ratings of 41 in the city and 38 on the highway, according to the EPA. The RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid are Toyota’s best-selling SUVs for a reason: They offer a great combination of utility, performance and comfort. Standard features include infotainment and various easy-to-use driver aids. Prime is the plug-in version. Consumer Reports’ annual Consumer Reliability Report was just released, with some surprising results along with some you’d expect.
With only rare exceptions, hybrid vehicles are among the most reliable vehicles on the road, according to Consumer Reports’ Annual Auto Reliability Report. But the report also offered some cautionary notes for those looking at EVs, which haven’t fared too well due to a variety of issues.
And perhaps the biggest surprise in the study? The poor performance of Mercedes-Benz, which ranked at the bottom of the reliability table.
Hybrids Are More Reliable Than Gas Cars In Recent Report
If you’re in the market for a new car, truck or crossover, chances are reliability is one of the most important factors on your shopping list. And Consumer Reports’ annual auto safety study serves as a guide for many buyers.
The 2022 study – based on what 300,000 owners had to say about their vehicles – offers interesting insight into how the latest products fare.
Of all the vehicles included in the annual report, hybrids ranked highest, with midsize and large sedans close behind. As for the new battery electric and plug-in vehicles that have recently hit the market? Buyer beware, said Jake Fisher, director of auto testing.
Plug-in vehicles “are designed for early adopters,” he explained, “and (manufacturers) load them with a lot of the latest technologies.” Overall, the latest technologies, such as gesture controls, voice recognition and advanced driver assistance systems, tend to cause the biggest headaches for buyers, the Consumer Reports study found.
Best Hybrid Cars For 2023
“Every car buyer has to weigh the importance of being first with new technology,” Fisher said in an exclusive interview with.
“One strong point,” he added, is that it’s much easier for an automaker to fix and replace software than a faulty mechanical part, like a ball-and-socket transmission. And more and more new products are being launched with smartphone-style over-the-air upgrades. Tesla recently used OTA technology to fix a brake problem without requiring customers to bring their vehicles in for repairs.
Now you may be wondering why hybrids are an exception. After all, they combine both electric and gas drive systems under the hood. But that technology hasn’t changed much since the first hybrids — like the Toyota Prius — hit the market 2 decades ago.
And some of the most popular hybrids are made by brands that regularly top the charts for quality and reliability, including Lexus and Toyota, Fisher said. But it is interesting to note that the hybrid version of the new Ford Maverick went higher than the pickup version that uses a conventional gasoline engine.
Consumer Reports 10 Best New Suvs For 2023 And Subaru’s 3 Top Picks
As for electric vehicles, the industry is still dealing with “growing pains and working out the bugs,” he added.
Think of battery electric vehicles as falling into two categories: Tesla and non-Tesla models, Fisher said. Products such as the Hyundai Kona, Chevrolet Bolt and Volkswagen ID.4 suffered from a variety of technical problems, owners reported, including faulty batteries, unreliable charging and problems with their electric heaters.
Oddly enough, Tesla vehicles have had few problems with their propulsion technology. The new automaker had problems with things like peeling paint and bad body panels, Fisher said, the kinds of problems traditional automakers have largely solved.
Of the four Tesla products now on the market, the Model 3 sedan is the one that has generally demonstrated the highest level of reliability. Overall, the California-based electric vehicle company ranked third among the 24 automakers covered in the CR study.
Top Picks 2013
When it comes to the most reliable brands, the 2022 Auto Reliability Report doesn’t stray far from what Consumer Reports has found in years past. Toyota took first place, just behind the luxury sibling of the Japanese manufacturer, Lexus. BMW, Mazda and Honda rounded out the top five. Lincoln was the only Detroit brand in the top ten, though Buick came in eleventh.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, according to Fischer, was the poor performance of German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz, which was dead last among the 24 brands covered by the CR study. The testing chief blamed Mercedes’ focus on using the latest technologies to help differentiate itself from its rivals. Features like the hyperscreen — which covers the S-Class sedan’s instrument panel from pillar to pillar — may appeal to early adopters,