The 5 Most (And Five Least) Beloved Cars

Many of us own a car, and we tend to have feelings about them: good, bad, and indifferent. Taken in aggregate, those feelings can tell us a bit about each car. Particularly when Consumer Reports does the survey, and comes up with the five most -- and five least -- likeable cars, according to their owners.

Most Beloved

#5) The Nissan Leaf

The first of quite a few fuel-savers tops the list. The Leaf is relatively expensive and has a short range... but those who bought it knew that going in, and they love what they're saving.

#3 and #4) Toyota Prius and the Prius C

Prius owners love their cars for one reason: fuel efficiency, fuel efficiency, fuel efficiency. The Prius saves its drivers a lot of money, and that's more than enough to put it a solid third on the list. The Prius C comes in fourth, and is popular because it's a bit more sporty.

#2) Toyota Camry Hybrid

The Camry Hybrid was incredibly popular, and it's not particularly hard to see why. The Camry is one of the most beloved and popular vehicles of the last few decades: it was already tough, fuel efficient and cheap. So now, it's tough, even more fuel efficient, (relatively) cheap, and saves you money on top of it. What's not to love?

#1) Chevy Volt

The Volt was extremely popular among its owners (92% would buy it all over again), topping the survey two years in a row. Why? It sips fuel; the Volt costs a lot, but it saves those who own it a lot of money. Despite the negative publicity surrounding the Volt over rumors its batteries are dangerous, its users love it.

Least Beloved

#5) Mitsubishi Outlander

The Outlander comes in at number five, thanks largely to its cheap interior and uncomfortable back seat. While it's fairly similar to other SUVs in its class in most other respects, it's still not exactly what many of its customers were looking for.

#4) The Suzuki SX4

With relatively low gas mileage -- getting as low as 22 mpg city with some versions -- and a cramped interior, the Suzuki SX4 is cheap... but cheerful it isn't, at least for its owners.

#3) Nissan Armada

The Nissan Armada is exactly what it sounds like: A big, gas-guzzling SUV. And it's the gas-guzzling that makes it so unpopular; essentially the Armada isn't bad, but most consumers feel they get better pep and better interiors from competitors for the money they spend on gas.

#2) GMC Silverado and Sierra (V6 version)

The Silverado and Sierra V6 burns fuel, but doesn't offer a lot of oomph for your gas, it being a V6 and all. Generally, customers were unhappy with what they were spending on fuel versus what they were getting in power.

#1) Nissan Versa

The Nissan Versa isn't a bad car, for what it is. But what it is is very, very basic, with fewer features than similar cars. The interior is cheap, it's got an understeer issue, and at high speeds, you'll be fighting it.

In short, this list tells us that it's always important to shop around. There's not much difference in sale price or car insurance rates between the cars in each class that were liked and those that weren't. But items such as interior made a huge difference, so if you think something's only “acceptable,” ... well, think again.

|