The results of the annual Consumer Reports automotive report card caught a lot of people by surprise when they were released Tuesday - not necessarily because of which automaker claimed top honors, but because of which automaker did not. A wave of redesigned vehicles helped catapult Subaru into the top position for the first time. It had finished second in last year's ranking, and buoyed by recent successes with the Outback and Impreza, it improved two points this year to finish with an overall score of 75. Subaru's rise to the top meant that Honda's four-year run as the top automaker among the 13 ranked was over. Honda drifted into fourth-place overall, and the problems caused by last year's Japanese catastrophes didn't seem to play much of a factor. David Champion, Consumer Reports director of research, gave a blunt assessment of the automaker's chief problem. "They seem to be cheapening vehicles," he told The New York Times. "It's almost like a role reversal of where the domestics were 10 to 15 years ago." Mazda showed the most dramatic improvement in this year's rankings, rising from seventh place to second. Toyota finished in third place. Overall, Consumer Reports editors and researchers tested 275 models from 13 automakers in reliability and road-test performance. Here's a more in-depth look at what they found:1. Subaru Of all the automakers included in the Consumer Reports automaker report card, none ranked higher than Subaru, which inched upward two points to an overall score of 75 this year. And of all Subaru's models, none tested better than the Impreza, which inched past the Hyundai Elantra to claim the top pick in the small-sedan class. The Impreza, redesigned for 2012, got high marks for a smooth ride that "rivals some luxury sedans," according to the report card and a roomy interior. Its combined fuel economy of 27 mpg is impressive, especially considering the Impreza is an all-wheel drive vehicle. Subaru has been on a sales tear the last few years, winning over more and more customers to its solidly reliable vehicles that come packed with plenty of utility and arguably the best all-wheel-drive system (standard in all Subarus) in the auto industry. This crowning by Consumer Reports should help he Japanese brand even more.
