Consumer Reports 10 Most Satisfying Vehicles To Own In 2023

It's important to test drive a vehicle before you buy it, but even if you do, there's no guarantee you won't later find some things you didn't notice at first. Maybe things start to squeak after six months. Maybe you go on a road trip and discover the seats start to get pretty uncomfortable after three hours. Maybe the infotainment system constantly freezes, and the dealership can't fix it.

But sometimes you buy a car, and the longer you own it, the more convinced you are that you made the right choice. Consumer Reports recently released a list of the vehicles its readers found most satisfying to own. If you're in the market for something new, definitely give this list a look. And if you're not, well, there's no shame in window shopping.

The Challenger probably isn't going to out-corner a Mustang or Camaro on a race track, but at the same time, it doesn't try to hide what it is. It's a coupe that gives you a lot of power for your money. If that's what you're looking for, it makes sense that a Challenger would make you happy.

Like the Challenger, the Miata is honest. It's small and simple, and if you don't fit comfortably inside, you'll probably going to discover it during the test drive, not six months after you buy it. But also, it's a Miata. Everyone loves Miatas. That's literally the law.

This one is a little interesting because we've seen some of the markups that dealers are tacking onto the cost of the RAV4 Prime. It would make sense that after getting caught up in the rush of actually getting one that owners might later decide it's not a $60,000 driving experience. But if that did happen, it sure didn't show up in this survey.

Like a lot of the cars on this list, the Toyobaru twins aren't exactly cars people accidentally buy. And no salesperson is going to tell someone who came in looking for an Ascent that they should consider the BRZ. You might eventually outgrow it eventually, but if you bought one, you probably knew you wanted one.

This is one of the most interesting cars on the list so far because while you probably have to know what you're looking for if you end up with a Polestar 2 in your garage, it's also a relatively new EV. Maybe driving an EV doesn't work with your lifestyle. Maybe your TCAM module locked you out of your car. There are a number of understandable reasons a Polestar 2 owner might regret their purchase, but turns out, owners love them.

Considering all the awards the Ioniq 5 has won, it's not terribly surprising to see this on on the list. Perhaps it's a little surprising that it's in the top five, but the Ioniq 5 is a fantastic EV with a great design. Now it's nice to find out that not many owners regret buying them.

We really wish more automakers would sell something like the Maverick. Small trucks are great! And while other vehicles on this list are honest about what they are, we'd argue the Maverick is a truck for customers who are honest with themselves. If you don't need to tow 12,000 pounds or haul a bed full of gravel to the job site, just get the Maverick.

While we've been big fans of the R1T, this is yet another one where we would fully understand owners not being interested in buying again. Maybe they missed Apple CarPlay more than expected. Maybe they realized it was too powerful for them. It would make sense. But nevertheless, the R1T earned a podium finish.

Yeah, this one totally makes sense, and it's almost a little surprising it's not in first place. The 911 fucks. You might possibly be able to find one or two buyers out there who got a GT car and were unhappy that it wasn't as comfortable as they'd hoped, but that kind of person deserves to be uncomfortable.

Honestly, the C8 being Consumer Reports' most satisfying vehicle to own this year is pretty surprising. We know the Corvette is great, but we're talking Consumer Reports here. "You won't regret buying a mid-engine supercar" isn't exactly a CR thing to say. And yet, the readers have spoken.