For car buyers, 2025 is an incentive year. If you were in the market for a new car during the first half of last year, you were in luck.
After a 25% tariff on car imports was announced in March, many car buyers snapped up new cars before the higher prices reached dealers.
A February consumer survey from CivicScience found that six in 10 Americans would switch to an alternative brand or stop buying the affected product if their favorite brand was affected by tariffs.
Last year, major automakers paid buyers up to $2,000 in exchange for branding through so-called “Conquest Cash Incentives,” which are often layered on top of other offers.
According to “Automotive World” citing JD Power data, retail consumer spending on new vehicles will reach $620 billion in 2025, an increase of nearly 6% from the previous year. However, this growth was driven by threats that never materialized.
“While there was much speculation about significant increases in new vehicle prices due to tariffs, as JD Power correctly predicted, the actual increases were modest,” the company said.
The average retail transaction price for all vehicles in December was estimated at $47,104, up $715 (1.5%) from the same period last year. Without electric vehicles (which are on average more expensive than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles), the average car price rose 1.4% to $46,807.
If you’re one of the six in 10 Americans looking to switch car brands, TheStreet reports here on Consumer Reports’ list of popular vehicles to avoid and vehicles you should consider switching to.
Here are five more vehicles to consider in 2026.
Founded in 1936 by a group of laid-off employees from Consumers’ Research, Consumer Reports is a diverse, nonprofit organization that educates consumers about products and helps them make informed buying decisions.
It does this by purchasing and testing products directly, conducting detailed surveys of products owned and used by its members, and investigating the veracity of manufacturer claims.
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Date of establishment: 1936 (Former employees of the Consumer Research Center formed the Consumers Union and were fired after trying to form a union)
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Headquarters: Yonkers, New York
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lead: Marta Terrado (President and CEO)
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employee: About. 500 to 600
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member: At least 6 million
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Mission statement: “Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to achieve truth, transparency and fairness in the marketplace.”
Consumer Reports’ slogan, “Smarter Choices, a Better World,” embodies the organization’s purpose. CR aims to educate and inform the public by providing objective information on popular products, helping consumers make “more informed choices” when purchasing major items.
For this list, Consumer Reports uses ratings and rankings based on testing and what its members tell them in surveys.
This review focuses on the best-selling models (based on sales and registration data) in nine different categories. These alternatives to popular models are of the same type but rated higher.
Cars to avoid will be listed first, with CR’s recommended replacement cars appearing second.
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price range: USD 63,500 – USD 168,700
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CRMPG: 18 overall/12 city/26 mpg highway
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consumer reports rankings: No. 12 (total 17)
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price range: USD 67,600 – USD 129,700
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CRMPG: Overall 23/City 15/Highway 33
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consumer reports rankings: No. 1 (total 17)
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price range: $43,945-$60,465
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CRMPG: Overall 27/City 21/Highway 32
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consumer reports rankings: #7 of 7 minivans, row 3
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price range: $41,390-$53,490
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CRMPG: 31 overall/26 city/34 mpg highway
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consumer reports rankings: No. 1 (7 in total)
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price range: USD 47,400- USD 57,900
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CRMPGe: 95 overall/101 city/88 highway mpge
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consumer reports rankings: No. 10 (22 in total)
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price range: US$39,990-US$59,990
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CRMPGe: 123 overall/130 city/115 highway mpge
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consumer reports rankings: Ranked 1 of 22 electric SUVs
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price range: US$23,995-US$29,995
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CRMPG: 34 overall/21 city/54 mpg highway
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consumer reports rankings: No. 21 (total 22)
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price range: US$29,395-US$33,595
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CRMPG: Overall 44/City 39/Highway 48
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consumer reports rankings: #1 or 22
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price range: US$29,200-US$38,250
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CRMPG: Overall 44/City 36/Highway 51
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consumer reports rankings: #9 of 10 Midsize Cars
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price range: US$29,100 – US$37,025
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CRMPG: Overall 48/City 40/Highway 54
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consumer reports rankings: #1 of 10 Midsize Cars
RELATED: U.S. car buyers reverse major trends in second half of 2025
This article was originally published by TheStreet on January 24, 2026, and first appeared in the Automotive section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.