Toyota Prius earns Best Value ranking from Consumer Reports, American brands fail to make the grade
As we reported yesterday, Consumer Reports' annual 2009 Auto Issue has just been released, and it seems that American automakers just can't catch a break from the popular magazine. Included alongside the Automaker's Report Cards are a list of cars that offer the best calculated value over a five year period. Hybrids, despite their initial cost disadvantage when the dotted line is first signed, managed to take five of the top several slots. The 2009 Toyota Prius Touring model bested all contenders as the top overall value out of all 300 vehicles CR tested for the '09 season.While perusing the results, we noticed the complete absence of any American automobiles on the Best Value list. We'd expect to see horrible performances from such vehicles as the HUMMER H2, which CR says will cost its owners $82,250 after just five years of ownership, but we're a little surprised to see that cars like the Ford Fusion or Chevy Malibu couldn't crack the top 5 family sedan list. Better luck next year.
[Source: Consumer Reports]
PRESS RELEASE:
Toyota Prius Touring Tops Consumer Reports First Ever Best New-Car Value List
Annual Auto Issue names the best new-car values in nine categories, from small cars to SUVs
YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Reports names the Toyota Prius Touring as the best overall value among 300 cars according to the 2009 Annual Auto Issue.
The Prius Touring provides the best overall value because of its comparatively low owner-cost estimate of $26,250 over five years -- and a relatively high road-test score of 80 points out of 100. The Prius doesn't have the least expensive sticker price in its class, but its excellent fuel economy of 42 mpg overall and solid resale value help give it a low owner-cost.
"A low price doesn't necessarily make a car a good value," said Rik Paul, automotive editor at Consumer Reports. "At a time when people need to make every dollar count, our best value list will help consumers understand the difference."
The full report on best car values as well as value lists, reliability data, and owner-cost estimates is in the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue on newsstands March 3 to May 4 or online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
To determine which cars are the best values, Consumer Reports looks at its overall road-test scores, five-year owner-cost estimates, and predicted reliability ratings for more than 300 recently tested vehicles. CR then divided each vehicle's five-year owner-cost by its overall road-test score to get the cost of each test-score point -- the lower the cost-per-point, the better the value. To ensure the vehicles named as best values were also models that held up well over time, choices were limited to those with above-average predicted reliability ratings. Consumer Reports' owner-cost estimates are based on six major elements: depreciation, fuel economy, insurance, interest on financing, maintenance and repair, and sales tax.
The Prius Touring received a cost-per-point of $325. Rounding out the top five models with the best overall value were the Mini Cooper ($330), Volkswagen Rabbit ($330), Honda Civic EX ($340), and Honda Fit ($350). Five small cars, the Mazda Miata, and the Toyota Camry Hybrid follow with results ranging from $340 to $365 cost-per-test score point. One of those cars, the redesigned Honda Fit had the best owner-cost estimate on CR's best value list, only $24,000 over five years.
The Toyota Prius base model, Mazda3 hatchback, and four-cylinder versions of the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Sonata, and Honda Accord also had low cost-per-point estimates of under $400.
Five hybrids made the list, including the top three in the family car category. Of the 41 vehicles on the best values list, all but the Mini, VW, and Volvo C30 are from Asian manufacturers, with 17 built by Toyota, 10 built by Honda, four by Nissan, and three by Hyundai.
Consumer Reports found huge differences between cars that score among the best and worst values. The Hummer H2, for example, is a terrible deal, with a best value figure of $3,620 because of a high five-year owner-cost of about $82,250 and a low test score of only 23.
Showing that a low price doesn't always mean a good value, at $15,355, The Smart ForTwo and at $16,470 Chevrolet Aveo5 had results of $895 and $870, respectively, which were the worst among all small and family cars.
Consumer Reports highlights the best new-car value vehicles in nine vehicle categories -- small cars, family cars, upscale cars, hatchbacks/wagons, sporty cars, minivans, small SUVs, midsized SUVs, and pickup trucks. The complete best-value list and the cost-per-test-point results are available in the 2009 Annual Auto Issue. Here are some of the highlights:
Best Value Small Cars: Honda Civic EX, Honda Fit (base), Hyundai Elantra SE, Toyota Corolla LE, and the Honda Civic Hybrid
Best Value Family Cars: Toyota Prius Touring, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Prius (base), Hyundai Sonata (4-cyl.), and the Honda Accord (4-cyl.)
Best Value Hatchbacks/Wagons: Volkswagen Rabbit, Mazda3 hatchback, Scion xB, Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, and the Toyota Matrix
Best Value Small SUVs: Toyota RAV4 (4-cyl.), Toyota RAV4 (V6), Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander (4-cyl.), and the Nissan Rogue
Best Value Midsized SUVs: Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Nissan Murano, and the Honda Pilot
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
JasonD 11:03AM (2/28/2009)
There's a reason the US automakers are on life support. You make an inferior product, people won't buy them. CR ratings seem to reflect this fact.
Reply
Stumpy 11:09AM (2/28/2009)
Well said. (+)
Rev 11:25AM (2/28/2009)
Why must you hate America? What did she ever do to you?
Stumpy 11:27AM (2/28/2009)
Errr... not sure who you are talking to, but just because I think that a large amount of US Auto Makers build poor cars, does not mean I "hate" America. If anything, it makes me sad, because I would love to buy American cars again, but I have been burned by my Fords and GMs too many times in the past.
Len_A 11:38AM (2/28/2009)
I've had nothing but Ford products for the last twenty years, driven them well into the six figure range, and never had anything other routine maintenance and normal wear items replaced. Plus my driving is all severe duty driving, as a sales rep.
"US Auto Makers build poor cars" is load of crap.
chconline 12:04PM (2/28/2009)
Reliability is only one aspect. It is a combination of many that creates a successful automaker. (Impression is too. Look at those snoozebox Toyotas but people still buy them.)
Either way, besides trucks, I don't see many competitive American cars. Pontiac G8. Cadillac CTS, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, etc are excellent cars but resides in a pretty competitive market and especially like the G8 sports/luxury sedan, name is also an important aspect. I really like the car but most people cannot come over the name "Pontiac". You get more respect for driving a Honda Accord.
Sektor 12:13PM (2/28/2009)
It's not "hating America." When I buy a car I want quality/reliability and at the moment American cars fall short of Japanese/European cars. It's as simple as that.
Stumpy 12:13PM (2/28/2009)
@Len_A:
I wish I had your luck. I owned 3 Fords and 2 GMs. They were always in the shop. It was so frustrating! Bought one Acura... 115,000 later still trouble free.
I am just going off my own experiences and the experiences of my family and friends. None of us drive US cars because of all the issues we have had with them.
Sea Urchin 12:19PM (2/28/2009)
@ Cronline Exelent point, even if Americans start building much better cars, some segments like sedans are so competitive they just can not keep up.
conor 1:36PM (2/28/2009)
Our benz has to go into the shop all the time, our GM card do not.
Polly Prissy Pants 8:42PM (2/28/2009)
Poor resale is simply a hangover from their prior reputation for making bad cars, not an indicator of current quality. Many people form an opinion once and stick with it for the rest of their lives, unable to rethink something regardless of how the facts of a situation may change. See cars, politics, prejudices, religion, etc.
Tool 11:09AM (3/01/2009)
The D3 have had more than 25 years to beat the Japanese in Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR).
If they can't get it right after more than two decades why do they think the U.S. Taxpayers should continue to prop them up?
tekd 11:02AM (2/28/2009)
lol autoblog, have you seen the resale values of those cars? Because then you wouldn't have been surprised to see them not make the list.
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Smegley 11:07AM (2/28/2009)
Ah yes, Consumer Reports.
Cars came right after Best Value Bakeware and before Best Value Dishsoap.
Reply
aeroturbo 11:19AM (2/28/2009)
Agreed, I put no value into anything consumer reports says. Weren't they the ones who weren't even reading the reports on Toyota models and just assuming they were reliable for several years, then when then did read them they were heartbroken to find out they could no longer recommend the V6 Camry or Tundra due to poor reliability... Yep that was them.
tekd 11:31AM (2/28/2009)
All of which have nothing to do with easily available resale value numbers.
You don't have to believe CR, go to your local dealerships and see how the cars have devalued then do the costs yourself. No Big 3 sedan can possibly get a best value rating because it's based on the cost of ownership over 5 years...which means depreciation automatically rules them out.
Or use a cost of ownership calculator from another source. No matter how you slice it they literally can't make the best value list from a mathematical standpoint, because resale values are terrible even accounting for the deep discounts they start with.
John 1:13PM (2/28/2009)
I work at a big dealership. Foreign cars don't hold their value any better than American cars do, nor do they trade better. In fact ppl with Foreign cars are always more upside down than someone with an American car (outside of large SUVs and Trucks).
The reason? We know we can screw the people looking for the oh-so-reliable Honda's and Toyotas more so than someone looking for a Malibu. Your perception of how great a Honda/Toyota is means I can charge you a lot more for that car than I could for the comparable American product and the resale values are the same.
So your whole, go trade the car to a dealership thing is BS. Though if you plan on doing it, please let me sell you your next car, I need to pay the bills for next month.
PapaWhiskey 2:06PM (2/28/2009)
If you Consumer Reports naysayers had a brain, you wouldn't be disagreeing with their results.
Their testing methods are solid, and the reliability reports are all based on subscribers responding to surveys based on their experience with a product.
I've owned ten Chevrolet's, two Dodge's, one Ford, one Volkswagen, two Honda's and one Toyota. I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on the Chevy's, and my current driver is a Chevy with over 188,000 miles on it. I've dumped nearly $1500 repairs into the current Chevy in the last year, and won't buy another domestic product unless their quality dramatically changes.
Our 2000 Camry has been extremely reliable, and still feels like a new car. I sold a 1990 Honda Accord to my stepson last year with over 180,000 miles on it, and he still drives it daily. It's held up better than any of the domestics I've had that were newer.
If the domestics could get rid of the unions that have been sucking them dry, and put that money into better quality materials, they should be able to take back market share from the Asians.
I would be happy to buy American again, but it makes no sense to buy a product that is inferior to other products on the market that sell for the same price.
tankd0g 4:18PM (2/28/2009)
Their info is usually solid except when they decide to go on a SUV flipping witch hunt...
That One Person 5:01PM (2/28/2009)
Whiskey, are you honestly comparing a Chevy with 180k miles on it (what year is it?) to something that was engineered within the last couple years using updated tech and designs?
Hey, let me compare my Buick Regal with 150k miles to a brand new GM product. Guess what, most likely that new product will be more reliable than my Regal...which has been damn reliable.