The Top Best Cars, Trucks SUVs of the Year in Review: Honda, Toyota, Tesla, Hyundai, BMW, Ford & Chevy

It’s that time of year when all the car review websites and magazines name their cars of the year. If you are a new car buyer which sources do you trust the most? In order to get an idea of what are the best cars on the market it really helps to look at several review sites and rewards to see if there is a consensus. Some review sites claim that they do not have a bias others have been tried and true for many years.

So what is a new car buyer to do? If you are in the early stages of looking for a new car and don’t know your model you want yet? We have compiled all the latest car of the year awards and other information for you here. This is an excellent starting point because generally if a car has gotten excellent reviews on several sources it’s a good value. The down side of cars that continually get Awards is that those cars tend to be more expensive. They might also be expensive to maintain and that’s why we need to look at data such as how much it cost to fix certain cars and actually there are mechanics websites that do that for you.

Where most of the review websites fall short is in rating cars after 10 years of service. It is at that 10-year hundred thousand mile mark where car owners decide what to do. That’s why we have included reliability indexes and cost-to-fix ratings.  It is generally believed that is cheaper to fix car then to buy a new one. However, there is a new glitch in the car market and that is newer cars within the past 5 years have much better safety features as well as convenient services.

Safety Technology Must-Haves

New safety features make buying a new or even never vehicle model important. Safety in new cars is one of their most compelling selling points.

“We have demonstrated that even with partial automation there are financial and safety benefits,” says Chris T. Hendrickson, director of the Carnegie Mellon Traffic21 Institute.

“When you consider and the price of automatic braking systems and advanced safety which depending on the model can cost a few hundred dollars to about thousand dollars,” says Patrick Min, senior industry insights manager for ALG, a division of TrueCar, “A little fender-bender on a plastic bumper can set you back $1,000, making the price of preventing the collision worthwhile.”

“Auto-breaking is one those technologies that people don’t realize they need until too late,” said David Zuby executive vice president and chief, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). AEB is an integral part of the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ awards that require a front crash prevent systems with an advanced or superior rating while IIHS Top Safety Pick winners require basic rating for “front crash prevention.” To find which vehicles have the AEB, car buyers can search IIHS’s website, says Zuby.

“Once you use a backup camera, you don’t want to go back to not having one,” said Mike Calkins, manager technical services at AAA. Backup cameras are especially important for large or taller vehicles such as SUVs, Mini Vans or trucks. 360 degree view cameras that show a full view around the vehicle are also very helpful.

AutoTrader recently announced it’s must-have technology features for new cars which includes.

• Digital Instrument Clusters.
• Better Bluetooth connections.
• Wireless Charging.
• All-Encompassing Cameras- in cabin and outside such as Honda’s Cabin Watch.
• Steering Collision Avoidance
• Self-driving features.
• Keyless start and entry through apps.

In fact, 76 percent of connected car owners are pleased when they discover the benefits of having and using them in their vehicles, and that safety is a motivation for using them.

Best Places for Research

Let’s look at the top three sources for information and how the companies make their money and their disclosures.

Kelley Blue Book – this site works by giving car owners the value of their present car. In 2010  Kelley Blue Book was bought by AutoTrader, part of  Cox Automotive which includes Dealer.com. It provides digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem. Dealer.com states, “We’re here throughout the year to help you push your dealership to the next level.” The company is connected to car dealers and provides data to car dealers. Nice features are the “Best Buy Awards” and Best Resale” ratings.

Edmunds.com – claims it has expert reviews and offers thousands of dollars in savings. It claims that it’s reviews are superior and unbiased. It was one of the first online review sites and since gone into the mobile space. It also has consumer reviews which helps round out the expert reviews as well as dealer reviews. It features a direct to dealer business model and Price Promise. To get special offers you have to turn over your email address and contact.

Consumer Reports – although Consumer’s Union does get paid for True Car referrals it is upfront stating that they do make money from it. They also do not accept gifts and cars are tested at their testing facility. You have to pay a yearly fee to research ratings. It has a stellar history of doing an excellent job or rating cars. Consumer Reports listed the least satisfying cars which include the Dodge Caravan, Fiat 500, Ford Transit Connect, Infinit QX60, Dodge Journey, Nissan Versa Sedan, Chevy Trax, Acura ILX, Nissan Sentra and Mercedes GLA. These model selections also match general consensus of what we’ve seen on our own.

Cars.com doesn’t accept gifts and but is paid for by advertising. Last year it received AUTO Connected Car News’ Tech CARs award for best mobile app. Cars.com is also ranked top car buying website by J.D. Power for the most satisfying experience. The top brands searched on Cars.com are Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Jeep and Honda.

What we found that when you research cars, you’ll find that most new cars are better than they have ever been before and pricing can be much higher for the best reviewed models. You’ll need to figure out what are the most important features for your driving needs. If you only drive short trips and inexpensive pricing is important to you, you may pay less for the vehicle and slightly more in repair bills. There are some people who want a sporty hot-looking car and they don’t care about safety features.

No matter what reviews and apps you use, you should test drive the vehicle and make sure that you like it.  I’m short and many cars are too big for me or the seats don’t adjust properly for me to view outside the car.  Some SUVs are too high for me, elderly people or people with disabilities to get into.

Starting in November, there were many new best cars of the years announced many during the LA Auto Show. These lists help provide car shoppers a basis for future buying habits.

Motor Trend Car of the Year and Person of the Year Award  Winners

• 2018 Car of the Year – Alfa Romeo Giulia
• 2018 Truck of the Year Winner: Ford F-150
• 2018 SUV of the Year Winner: Honda CR-V
• Person of the Year – Mary Barra GM

Top Car Brands by Type

Strategic Vision’s Most Loved Cars

Some people really love their cars and their loved can be indexed. The most loved are not always the best reviewed but can be very satisfying to own.

• Tesla X – Most Loved Vehicle
• Honda Civic Hatchback – Most Loved Small Multi-Function Car
• Subaru Impreza  – Most Loved Sedan
• Genesis G90 – Most Loved Luxury Car
• Honda Ridgeline- Most Loved Pickup Truck
• Toyota Tundra- Most Loved  Full-Size Pickup
• Ford F-250/350 – Most Loved Heavy Duty Pickup
• Toyota 4Runner – Most Loved Mid-Size SUV
• Dodge Charger – Most Loved Full Size Car
• Honda Odyssey- Most Loved Minivan
• See all most loved winners

All the car data can be overwhelming because there are hundreds of models and many new ranking, that you may not have thought about before.

Here are some other rankings. You may start to see patterns, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia are very popular for compact sedans and small SUVs. Ford and Chevy rule in the truck market. The luxury ratings are high for Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and BMW.

Consumer Reports Top Ten Most Reliable In Ranking Order

1. Kia Niro
2. Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86
3. Lexus ES
4. Lexus GS
5. Audi Q3
6. Toyota RAV4
7. Lexus IS
8. Toyota Prius V
9. Toyota Prius C
10. Infiniti Q70

Top Brands from Consumer Reports

1. Toyota
2. Lexus
3. Kia
4. Audi
5. BMW
6. Subaru
7. Infiniti
8. Buick
9. Honda
10. Hyundai
11. Nissan
12. Mazda
13. Porsche
14. Mercedes-Benz
15. Ford
16. Volkswagen

Consumer Reports added  these models for improved reliability:
Audi A3, Chrysler Pacifica, Ford F-150, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Ram 1500, Volkswagen Golf Alltrack, Volkswagen Passat.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends these models due to poor reliability:
Acura MDX, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Equinox, Chrysler 300, GMC Acadia, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-9, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Nissan Maxima, Porsche Cayenne, Subaru Impreza.

Show what is the best car model or vehicle? Its is the safest car you can afford that meets your needs and gets you where you are going when you want to get there.