Bookmarking Auto on Info pages
Supporting Auto on Info
Home or
Site Layout or
Site Map or
Site Index or
Quick Jumps or
Search Engine Directory or
The Mart
Auto News, Analysis and Editorial
Toyota
and Honda Dominate CR's 2007 Top Picks and Alternates; Nissan's Infiniti
Division Accounts for CR's Upscale and Luxury Top Picks; Big Three Score Zip
Auto on Info April 2007
Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2007 Top Picks and Alternates; Nissan's Infiniti Division Accounts for CR's Upscale and Luxury Top Picks; Big Three Score Zip
By James B. Bleeker
Of Consumer Reports' 2007 Top Picks and alternates in 10 categories of motor vehicles, Toyota Motor Corporation accounted for six of twenty models and Honda Motor Company - seven. The following table provides a breakdown of the 2007 top picks and alternates by manufacturer.
Percentage of Nameplates in Consumer Reports' 2007 Selection of Top Picks and Alternates That Is Held by Each Auto Manufacturer Manufacturer Percentage Honda Motor Company 35% Toyota Motor Corporation 30% Infiniti Division of Nissan Motor Company 10% Volkswagen AG 10% Subaru Division of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. 5% Mazda Motor Corporation 5% BMW AG 5% Ford Motor Company 0% DaimlerChrysler AG 0% General Motors Corporation 0% All others 0% The following chart depicts each manufacturer's share of the 2007 top picks and alternates.
The next table lists Toyota's entries in the Top Pick categories.
Toyota Motor Corporation's Models Accorded Consumer Reports' 2007 Top Pick or Alternate Designation Model Category Top Pick Status Lexus ES 350 Upscale Sedan Top Pick Alternate Toyota Prius Green Car Top Pick Toyota Camry Family Sedan Top Pick Alternate Toyota RAV4 Small SUV Top Pick Toyota Highlander Hybrid Midsized SUV Top Pick Toyota Sienna Minivan Top Pick The next table depicts the above models and provides a link to an on-site review of each model or each of its several versions.
CR's Top Picks and Alternates Engineered and Manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation Lexus ES 350 Toyota Prius Toyota Camry Toyota Camry hybrid Toyota RAV4 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Toyota Sienna The next table lists Honda's entries in the Top Pick categories.
Honda Motor Company's Models Accorded Consumer Reports' 2007 Top Pick or Alternate Designation Model Category Top Pick Status Honda Fit Budget Car Top Pick Honda Civic Small Sedan Top Pick Honda Civic Hybrid Green Car Top Pick Alternate Honda Accord Family Sedan Top Pick Honda CR-V Small SUV Top Pick Alternate Honda Pilot Midsized SUV Top Pick Honda Odyssey Minivan Top Pick Alternate The Honda Fit is also Auto on Info's Top Car Pick of 2007.
The next table depicts most of the above models and provides links to on-site reviews of most of the models or versions.
CR's Top Picks and Alternates Engineered and Manufactured by Honda Motor Company Honda Fit Honda Civic DX, LX, and EX Sedans Honda Civic Si Sedan Honda Civic GX Honda Civic Hybrid Honda Accord Sedan Honda Accord Hybrid Honda CR-V Honda Pilot The final table provides a comparison of Toyota's, Honda's and Nissan's entries on CR's 2007 top-pick-and-alternate roll.
Some Specs and Distinctions of CR's Top Picks and Alternates by Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda Motor Company, and Nissan Motor Company Category Top Pick Status CR's Predicted Short-Term Reliability 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average Green Trophies Overall Length in Inches Second Row Shoulder Room in Inches Second Row Hip Room in Inches EPA Per-Gallon Gas Mileage Estimates (City / Highway) Base Price Range in Thousands of U.S. Dollars Model Budget Car Honda Fit Top Pick Highest N/A Manual: GD07 157.4 50.6 51.0 31-33 / 37-38 13.9-15.2 Small Sedan Honda Civic DX, LX, and EX Top Pick Second-Highest .91 Automatic: GD07 176.7 52.3-52.4 51.0 30 / 38-40 N/A Honda Civic Si Top Pick Second-Highest N/A None 176.7 52.3 51.0 23 / 32 21.1-21.3 Honda Civic GX Top Pick N/A N/A GD07 176.7 52.4 51.0 28 / 39 N/A Honda Civic Hybrid Top Pick Highest N/A GT07, GD07 176.7 52.3 51.0 49 / 51 N/A Green Car Toyota Prius Top Pick Highest .86 GT07, GD07, GW07, GS07, GC07 175.0 52.9 51.6 60 /51 22.2-23.1 Honda Civic Hybrid Top Pick Alternate Highest N/A GT07, GD07 176.7 52.3 51.0 49 / 51 N/A Family Sedan Honda Accord Top Pick Second-Highest, but 4-cyl. EX: Highest .93, 4-cyl.: .96 None 191.1 56.1 53.5 4-cyl.: 24-26 / 34, 6-cyl.: 20-21 / 29-30 18.6-31.1 Honda Accord Hybrid Top Pick Highest N/A None 191.1 56.1 53.5 28 / 35 Toyota Camry Top Pick Alternate Second-Highest, but 4-cyl. LE: Average 4-cyl.: .88 None 189.2 56.9 53.9 4-cyl.: 24 / 33-34, 6-cyl.: 22 / 31 18.5-28.0 Toyota Camry Hybrid Top Pick Alternate Second-Highest N/A GD07 189.2 56.7 53.9 40 / 38 Small SUV Toyota RAV4 Top Pick Highest .94 None 181.1 55.3 52.4 4-cyl.: 23-24 / 27-30, 6-cyl.: 21-22 / 28-29 21.0-26.5 Honda CR-V Top Pick Alternate Highest .97 None 178 56 54.6 2-wh.dr.: 23 / 30, 4-wh.dr.: 22 / 28 20.6-26.0 Midsized SUV Toyota Highlander Hybrid Top Pick Highest N/A None1 185.6 57.1 54.6 31-32 / 27 N/A Honda Pilot Top Pick Alternate Highest N/A GS07 188.0 61.4 56.6 2-wh.dr.: 18 / 24, 4-wh.dr.: 17 / 22 27.1-33.2 Minivan Toyota Sienna Top Pick Second-Highest .81 GS07 201.0 64.9 67.5 2-wh.dr.: 19 / 26, 4-wh.dr.: 18 / 23 24.2-37.7 Honda Odyssey Top Pick Alternate Average .75 GS07, GC07 201.0 63.1 64.4 18-19 / 25-26 25.6-36.9 Upscale Sedan Infiniti G35 Top Pick Second-Highest G20: .91 None 187.0 55.2 53.7 19 / 25-27 31.5-34.0 Lexus ES350 Top Pick Alternate Highest ES: .96 None 191.1 56.3 52.8 21 / 30 33.5 Upscale Sedan Infiniti M35 & M45 Top Pick Second-Highest N/A None 192.6 56.7 or 56.9 53.9 17-18 / 23-25 41.5-50.6 Abbreviations: 4-cyl. = 4-cylinder, 6-cyl. = 6-cylinder, 2-wh.dr. = 2-wheel drive, 4-wh.dr. = 4-wheel drive, GT07 = one of two current models that have reduced exhaust emissions sufficiently to receive a permit to use the car pool lanes on Arizona's freeways, GD07 = a model, or specified edition of the model, that is on GreenerCars.com's top dozen green cars, GW07 = a model, or specified edition of the model, that is best in category on global warming performance, by the Union of Concerned Scientists, GS07 = a model, or specified edition of the model, that is best in category on smog performance, by the Union of Concerned Scientists, GC07 = a model, or specified edition of the model, that is best in category on combined environmental performance 1 The 2007 ratings by the Union of Concerned Scientists are based on data for vehicles of model year 2005; consequently, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid holds no best-in-category rating, but the Toyota Highlander Hybrid will likely hold all three - GW09, GS09 and GC09 - in 2009. Source for CR 2007 Top Picks: "Top Picks 2007: The Best Models in 10 Categories," Consumer Reports, April 2007, pp. 6-9
Source for Consumer Reports' 2007 predicted short-term reliability: "Top Picks 2007: The Best Models in 10 Categories," Consumer Reports, April 2007, pp. 6-9, "Ratings," Consumer Reports, April 2007, pp. 35-45, "Vehicle Profiles," Consumer Reports, April 2007, pp. 42-78, "Vehicle Profiles," Consumer Reports New Car 2007 Preview, pp. 42-173
Source for base price range data: "Vehicle Profiles," Consumer Reports, April 2007, pp. 42-78
Source for auto UCS global warming scores, smog scores, and combined environmental scores: Automaker Rankings 2007: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies, by Don MacKenzie, Union of Concerned Scientists, April 2007, accessible from http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/honda-toyota-beat-detroit-in-0021.html
Source for Arizona's Green Two: "Hybrids In, Bi-Fuels Out in Arizona," Paul Davenport, the Associated Press, February 10, 2007, Yahoo! News
Source for GreenerCars.com's Dozen Green: http://www.greenercars.com/12green.html