Genesis supplants Audi atop Consumer Reports' latest brand rankings

Hyundai's new Genesis luxury brand supplanted Audi atop Consumer Reports' annual ranking of automotive brands released Thursday.

Audi, at No. 2, was followed by BMW, Lexus, and Porsche to complete the top 5. They were followed by Subaru and Kia -- the highest-ranked mass-market brands -- then Tesla, Honda and Toyota to round out the top 10.

The magazine's annual report card ranks brands based on road and safety tests, owner satisfaction and reliability.

"Not many car brands have what it takes to deliver consistent quality across several models and through multiple new launches or redesigns," said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports' director of automotive testing.

The magazine said Lexus stood out in the rankings more for its reliability and standard advanced safety features than its road test scores, which often have trailed rivals.

The magazine said every Audi model tested, which totaled eight in the latest survey period, and every Genesis tested, just two models, are all recommended.

The influential magazine says its recommended vehicles must perform well in road testing, generate average or better predicted reliability ratings and perform at least adequately if included in government or insurance-industry crash tests.

The Chrysler brand, with an overall score that is four points higher, posted the biggest gain while Buick, down eight points, and Acura, down six ponts, fell the most, because of lower reliability of some models, the magazine said. Fiat remained at the bottom of the brand rankings.

Toyota Motor Corp. took four of 10 slots in the magazine's annual ranking of vehicles, the most of any manufacturer, with the Toyota Camry taking the highest honors.

Toyota was cited for "impressive reliability and standard automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning," throughout its lineup, the magazine said.

Consumer Reports added seven vehicles — the Toyota Corolla and the Camry, Chevrolet Bolt, Kia Optima, Ford F-150, BMW X3, and Audi A4 — to its 2018 list of recommended vehicles.

Chevrolet placed two vehicles in the top ten: the Bolt and the Impala, the only other brand with more than one vehicle in the top. However, the Ford F-150 was named 2018's best full-size pickup.

The top picks were presented to the Washington Automotive Press Association at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

New to the list for 2018 is the compact green-car segment, where the Bolt took top honors due to its range, acceleration and tight handling.

Three of the top 10 picks — the Chevrolet Impala, Subaru Forester and Toyota Highlander — were repeats from last year.

Patrick Olsen, lead autos editor at Consumer Reports, said the lower ranking of Detroit 3 brands on the latest list has a lot to do with public perception.

"In General Motors, I know that Buick was one of our big droppers this year and it's because they are continuing to fight a reliability issue," Olsen told Automotive News. "[At] Fiat Chrysler, [with] a lot of its brands down at the bottom of our brand report card ... reliability is a sticking point."

Olsen wouldn't say how the scores are weighted, but because of the range of factors that go into the scoring, consumers should look at individual scores to determine the vehicle that's right for them.