The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card ' which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CR’s independent testing and member surveys,' and that 'Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups.'

The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to 'Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys.' Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April.

Consumer report cars