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Filed under: Car Buying, Crossovers/CUVs, Ford, Mazda

Consumer Reports rates three-row SUVs, Flex and CX-9 in top five


Click above for high-res gallery of the Ford Flex

The Ford Flex and Mazda CX-9 haven't exactly lit up the sales charts lately, and the Flex even has $2,500 in incentives on its hood to try and move units in this atrocity of an automotive market. Despite slow sales, the two well regarded three-row crossovers have made the Consumer Reports short list. The consumer advocacy magazine ranked the top 17 three row crossovers on the market, and the Flex and CX-9 cracked the top five for the first time. The Flex was lauded for its quality interior, roominess, unique style, and the SYNC system, while the CX-9 was given kudos for driving dynamics, steering, transmission and interior flexibility. The two models teamed up to boot the perennial top five Honda Pilot, which even fell out of the top 10 in spite of a thorough redesign this year.

The big winner in the CR SUV rankings was the Toyota Highlander. The hybrid version finished with the top overall score of 86, and the standard model received a good-for-second-place 81. The Acura MDX came in third with 80 points. GM's Lambda-based crossovers all tied for 6th place with a total score of 75 points each. The Consumer Report SUV rankings will appear in its November issue, which should be hitting store shelves just about now.



[Source: Free Press]

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