{"id":469352,"date":"2021-02-19T08:58:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T06:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=469352"},"modified":"2021-02-19T08:58:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T06:58:58","slug":"best-and-worst-car-brands-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/469352\/best-and-worst-car-brands-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"Best and worst car brands revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tesla Inc fell in Consumer Reports\u2019 latest auto brand rankings, outdone by Mazda Motor Corp\u2019s mainstream models.<\/p>\n

The electric-car maker dropped five spots from last year\u2019s report to rank No. 16 – the middle of the pack – in the closely watched annual assessment based on road tests, reliability data, owner satisfaction surveys and safety performance.<\/p>\n

While Tesla scored high on customer satisfaction and road testing, its vehicles were less reliable than others, according to Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing for the Yonkers, New York-based magazine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only model we\u2019re able to recommend is the Model 3. All the other ones have below-average reliability,\u201d Fisher said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Mazda, meanwhile, climbed three steps in the rankings to knock Porsche out of the top spot. \u201cMazda is putting out very desirable vehicles that drive very well,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first time Mazda has captured the top spot. The company was among five mainstream brands to make Consumer Reports\u2019 Top 10, which in the past has been packed with luxury lines.<\/p>\n

Other \u201creasonably priced\u201d brands that landed in the upper ranks include Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Stellantis NV\u2019s Chrysler and General Motors Co\u2019s Buick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Touchscreen Controls<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Tesla, a recurring reliability issue is failures with its tablet-style touchscreen that controls many of the car\u2019s functions, Fisher said. The company\u2019s plans to put gear-shift controls on the panel could exacerbate the issue going forward, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lose this screen in a Tesla and you lose major controls and safety equipment on the vehicle,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n

The magazine named Tesla\u2019s top-selling Model 3 a \u201cTop Pick\u201d in the $45,000 to $55,000 price range, saying it offered \u201can otherworldly driving experience, with punchy acceleration.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the brand\u2019s Model S, Model Y and Model X vehicles showed shortcomings in \u201cbuild quality,\u201d including back hatches that don\u2019t close properly and poor paint finish, Fisher said.<\/p>\n

The Model Y, Tesla\u2019s latest vehicle, is a midsize crossover that\u2019s competing with Ford Motor Co\u2019s electric Mustang Mach-E.<\/p>\n

The drop is a new obstacle for Elon Musk, who is expanding Tesla globally with factories in Shanghai and Berlin.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Consumer Reports is a car-buying bible for many that has built a reputation for thorough and meticulous testing, complemented by reliability reports from thousands of its members. The organization buys all the vehicles it tests and doesn\u2019t accept any marketing dollars from manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Toyota Motor Corp. had four models land on the magazine\u2019s Top Picks list, including the Corolla, Prius, Camry and Lexus RS. The Japanese automaker historically does well in quality rankings because it takes a \u201cslow, methodical\u201d approach to redesigning its models, Fisher said.<\/p>\n

Consumer Reports launched a new Green Choice designation, which assesses which vehicles emit the lowest amount of greenhouse gases and smog-forming emissions. Tesla\u2019s Model 3 made the Top 10 along with Toyota\u2019s Prius, Corolla Hybrid and Camry.<\/p>\n

\n

Read: These are the best cars in South Africa right now \u2013 in every major category<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tesla Inc fell in Consumer Reports\u2019 latest auto brand rankings, outdone by Mazda Motor Corp\u2019s mainstream models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":245697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[26,15794,6118],"class_list":["post-469352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-headline","tag-mazda","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":469406,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469352\/revisions\/469406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}