The average price of a new car has soared to over $50,000, but some great vehicles are affordable and come packed with features and technology that were cutting-edge not long ago.
Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing, told me in an interview that these were among the findings of Consumer Reports magazine’s influential 2026 Auto Brands Report Card.
CR’s top 10 brands include affordable mass-market brands such as Subaru at No. 1 for the second year in a row, Honda at No. 4, Toyota at No. 5 and Hyundai at No. 8.
“In some ways, the less expensive vehicles are the most impressive,” Fisher said. “There’s good value out there if you look for it.”
Consumer Reports’ Top 10 Car Brands of 2026
Tesla’s best results ever
Tesla’s inclusion in the top 10 is the first time the electric car specialist’s complete brand has received such praise from CR, which has been critical of Tesla’s reliability.
“Tesla makes the most reliable electric cars right now,” Fisher said.
He attributes this to the fact that most Tesla models have been in production for a long time.
“Who has been producing electric cars as long and in as many quantities as Tesla? No one,” he said. “The Tesla S hasn’t been redesigned in 15 years. No one else has taken a vehicle out of production for that long, but it’s been refined over time.” Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he noted that Tesla vehicles that are 5 to 10 years old rank near the bottom in reliability among vehicles that age.
Top 10 luxury brands selected by Consumer Reports
Little good news for Detroit brands
Ford’s luxury brand Lincoln is the only Detroit brand to make the top 10. Cadillac, General Motors’ luxury brand, ranked 17th, one spot ahead of Ford itself. Buick, Chevrolet and Chrysler ranked 20th, 24th and 25th respectively.
Three of the five bottom brands come from Stellantis, a global automaker that includes the legacy Chrysler brand. Jeep finished last, at No. 31, and Dodge at No. 28. Alfa Romeo, one of Stellantis’ Italian brands, ranked 27th (if that’s any consolation).
Consumer Reports’ bottom 5 car brands in 2026
27. Alfa Romeo
28. Dodge
29. General Motors
30. Land Rover
31. Jeep
The cost of innovation
Technological innovation creates problems like seagulls flocking to landfills.
“Reliability increases with age,” Fisher said. “The number of new cars is down. When you add new features, you run into problems.”
Lincoln benefited greatly from this. The reliability of the brand’s two oldest models, the Aviator and Corsair, has been improved. CR didn’t test Lincoln’s flagship Navigator because the luxury large SUV was already out of the magazine’s price range. Corsair plans to discontinue production soon.
Fisher said Cadillac’s fleet of electric vehicles has been praised for its technology, performance and luxury, but “reliability is not great.”
“There’s always a learning curve, and GM is always on the steep part of it,” as it moves from one technology to another, he said.
Hybrids dominate, but plug-ins don’t
Fisher said hybrids are now the most trouble-free powertrains because the technology has been mature for decades and Toyota, the automaker most invested in it, is wary of adopting new ideas.
While hybrids dominate, plug-in hybrids, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), have larger batteries and can travel longer distances on electric power alone, but are less reliable and share issues with EVs such as charging and in-car climate control.
“Today’s hybrids are generally quieter, smoother and more powerful than internal combustion engines,” Fisher said. “Going forward, things will improve.”
Consumer Reports compiles its annual report card based on road tests, owner reports, new and used vehicle reliability, owner satisfaction, and maintenance and repair costs. CR road-tests more than 200 new vehicles each year. This year’s rankings also reflect owner surveys of more than 380,000 vehicles, a 27% increase from 2025.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Mark Phelan. Read more car and register our Automotive communications. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Subaru, BMW lead Consumer Reports’ 2026 Top Car Report Card
