These Are The Most Popular New Cars And SUVs According To Consumer Reports

A lot of times, when Consumer Reports puts together a list, it involves page after page of data, spreadsheets, pivot tables and all the other tools smart people use to glean insight from a giant pile of numbers. Take, for example, turning its annual survey responses into a list of the least satisfying cars to own, or the least reliable cars to buy new.

This list, however, is a little bit different. It’s just a list of the vehicles that get searched for the most on the Consumer Reports website. Does it tell you much about what cars to buy and which ones to avoid? Not really. Does it give you a little more insight into what kinds of cars regular people are interested in? You bet it does. Let’s take a look.

For drivers who just want basic transportation that works, the Toyota Camry has been the go-to sedan for the last several decades. It’s not the most exciting midsize family sedan on the market, but its mix of comfort, good gas mileage and reliability is still enough to keep Consumer Reports’ readers interested.

If you’re in the market for a midsize SUV that offers three rows of seats, it’s hard to do better than the Kia Telluride. It’s not the sportiest crossover that money can buy, but considering it’s great at pretty much everything else, does that really matter? Clearly, Consumer Reports’ readers don’t care.

Considering how attractive and enjoyable to drive the Mazda CX-5 is, it can be easy to forget that it hasn’t been redesigned since 2017. If it’s important to you to get a crossover with the latest infotainment system and tech features, the CX-5 may not be for you, but its impressive handling and stylish interior have Consumer Reports readers hooked.

There’s no denying the Subaru Crosstrek’s hatchback roots, and yet it feels like more than just a lifted Impreza and appeals to the kinds of people who you would expect to be more interested in a more traditional crossover. It might not have the most powerful engine in its class, but the rest of the package is enough to keep Consumer Reports’ readers interested.

When it comes to three-row midsize crossovers, Consumer Reports actually ranks the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade and Mazda CX-90 ahead of the Toyota Highlander. Which one draws the attention of the most readers, though? The Toyota Highlander.

As a general rule, Americans don’t buy station wagons, at least not anymore. Stick a small lift on a Japanese station wagon, though, and you’ve got a certified hit on your hands. Consumer Reports readers are even more interested in the Subaru Outback than they are in the Toyota Highlander.

You would think that the Honda CR-V Hybrid would be lumped in with the regular CR-V. Apparently, though, there’s enough specific interest in the electrified version of Honda’s popular do-everything-mobile that it earned its own entry on this list of Consumer Reports’ most popular vehicles. Considering it gives you everything there is to love about a CR-V with much better fuel economy, we can’t really blame them.

Like most of the rest of the Toyota lineup, you would probably expect Consumer Reports to rank the RAV4 near the top of its segment. In reality, it doesn’t even make the top 10, and yet here it is. We may be partial to the Honda CR-V, but even though the Toyota RAV4 is five years old, people are still drawn to it.

The regular Honda CR-V may not get the kind of gas mileage that the hybrid version offers, but it’s also about $5,000 less expensive. Then again, that isn’t as relevant anymore since Honda doesn’t offer the CR-V Hybrid as a standalone model. Instead, the hybrid is the only offering for the CR-V’s mid-level and upper trims. Regardless of the trim level, though, it’s clear Consumer Reports readers love the CR-V.