Some automotive studies are more questionable than others, but the consensus is Consumer Reports is among the most trustworthy sources. For 2022, it has ranked no fewer than 32 brands from both mainstream and luxury marques. Their final positions were established based on the points obtained after road tests as well as assessing safety, reliability, and owner satisfaction.

There’s both good and bad news to share about BMW since your favorite brand still made it onto the podium. However, it’s down by one position to third place, behind Mazda, which also lost one spot compared to 2021. Both of them were surpassed by Subaru, which had an overall score of 81 and gained two positions in the Consumer Reports’ annual rankings.

BMW was the highest-ranked brand among luxury car manufacturers, followed by Lexus in fifth place, with Audi and Porsche right behind. As far as MINI is concerned, it climbed an impressive nine positions and ended in eighth place. Tesla performed the worst year over year, losing seven spots to end in 23rd. It’s largely because of its hard-to-use yoke steering wheel in the latest Model S and Model X. Interestingly, Mercedes didn’t fare much better as it too was demoted by Consumer Reports, dropping four places to 25.

“10 Top Picks of 2022” And “Green Choice” Awards Don’t Have Any BMWs or MINIs

Consumer Reports also published its 10 Top Picks of 2022, but there’s neither a BMW nor a MINI on the list. Instead, the winners chosen by CR are:

  • Nissan Sentra (Small Car)
  • Nissan Rogue Sport (Subcompact SUV)
  • Subaru Forester (Small SUV)
  • Honda Accord (Midsize Sedan)
  • Toyota Prius / Prius Prime (Hybrid)
  • Toyota RAV4 Prime (Two-Row SUV)
  • Kia Telluride (Three-Row SUV)
  • Honda Ridgeline (Compact Pickup Truck)
  • Ford Mustang Mach-E (Electric Vehicle)
  • Lexus RX (Luxury Midsize SUV).

Consumer Reports handed out Green Choice awards for clean cars, and Toyota came out on top with 11 models. That’s despite the fact it didn’t sell any purely electric vehicles in the United States last year. Both BMW and MINI failed to get even a single Green Choice.

[Source: Consumer Reports]