Consumer Reports American Top Picks 2009

Once again, we bring you an all-domestic version of Consumer Reports' Top Picks. In years past, some have questioned why we did this. (See “American Top Picks 2008.”)

After all, we advocate buying the best product for your needs, regardless of who builds it or where it comes from. Plus, defining what is a “domestic” vehicle has gotten tricky with global production--is an American-designed-and-built Toyota Sienna more domestic than an Australian-built Pontiac G8? Regardless, especially given the recession, some buyers feel strongly that they should buy an American-branded vehicle.

That certainly doesn’t mean they’re doomed to buying a bad car. That perception exists: some have labeled this list the “losers list” in the past. That’s unfair, given that there are some excellent vehicles listed here. (However, some of the best vehicles built by Detroit don’t qualify because of reliability concerns.)

As a quick review, here are the guidelines for qualifying for a Top Pick:

• Scores high in the category
• Has readily available electronic stability control (ESC)
• Reliability data from CR’s annual survey that indicates average or better reliability.

Given those parameters, here are the domestic-branded Top Picks for 2009. For curiosity’s sake, I included the top-scoring domestic-branded vehicles in each category and noted why they didn’t qualify.

Category	Top Pick	Top Scoring
Small car	Ford Focus	Ford Focus
Family sedan	Chevrolet Malibu	Chevrolet Malibu
Upscale sedan	Lincoln MKZ	Cadillac CTS (reliability too low to recommend)
Luxury sedan	Cadillac DTS	Cadillac STS (reliability too low to recommend)
Small SUV	Ford Escape Hybrid	Ford Escape Hybrid
Midsized SUV	Ford Taurus X	Chevrolet Traverse/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook (no reliability data for Traverse, reliability too low to recommend for others)
Minivan	None qualify	Chrysler Town & Country (reliability too low to recommend)
Pickup truck	Chevrolet Avalanche	Chevrolet Avalanche
Fun-to-drive	None qualify	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (reliability too low to recommend)
Green car	Ford Escape Hybrid	Ford Escape Hybrid

Here are the details on each category:

Small car: The return of optional ESC, back after a six-year hiatus, allows the Focus to qualify for best small car. It outscores the competition from GM and Chrysler. But there still is a pretty big gap in score between the automatic-transmission SES we tested (score = 65) and the Hyundai Elantra SE (82) that tops this class. Hopefully the Chevy Cruze and upcoming “global” Fords will help regain competitiveness here.

Family sedan: The Malibu has been quite reliable in its first year. Both the four-cylinder and V6 versions we tested compete well with the top family sedans out there, but they do give up about six-to-nine points in overall score compared to the best-in-class cars. We’re interested to see how the updated 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan does in our tests; they have been extremely reliable.

Upscale and luxury sedans: It’s too bad that Cadillac has hit-and-miss reliability. The CTS and STS are both fun to drive sedans, but they haven’t been reliable. The old-fashioned DTS certainly isn’t as entertaining, but it’s very roomy and quiet.

Small SUV: With improved brakes and more power, the 2009 Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner now scores high enough to be recommended. Of the three we’ve recently tested, the hybrid scores the best. But the applause is tepid at best--with a score of 66, there is a big gap between it and the top-scoring small SUVs in this class, the Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4.

Midsized SUV: Here is a category where the domestics score really well. Both GM’s modern three-row SUVs (the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Chevrolet Traverse score an 80 with their new direct-injection V6) and the Ford Flex (77) crowd the Toyota Highlander (81 for the nonhybrid) at the top of the ratings. Unfortunately, the GM vehicles haven’t been reliable, and we don’t have reliability data on the Flex yet.

Given those limitations, the pick here goes to the Taurus X. Built on the same platform as the Flex, the X has been reliable. Production is ending soon on this less-than-popular seller.

Minivans: Chrysler is the only domestic game in town. Ford and GM don’t build minivans anymore, but they’d gladly sell you a Flex or Acadia/Outlook/Traverse instead. We weren’t impressed with the redesigned Chrysler minivans in our tests, and their reliability has been subpar.

Pickup truck: With reliability that’s improved to average, the smooth-riding, innovative Avalanche replaces the Silverado as our Top Pick pickup.

Fun-to-drive: Although the Corvette scores extremely well (92 for the awesome Z06), reliability has been much below average. Going down the list, we don’t have reliability info on the updated Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Too bad--it’s a very entertaining car to drive. The Ford Mustang GT has been reliable enough, but stability control wasn’t available on the tested car. (It’s standard for 2010.) We haven’t tested the new Chevy Camaro or Dodge Challenger, nor do we have reliability data on them.

Green Car: With the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner hybrid finally receiving ESC, they qualify to be a Top Pick. With 26 mpg overall, they get the best fuel economy of any SUV we’ve tested.

And that this year’s Top Picks, American style.

--Tom Mutchler

See our Top Picks 2009, complete with videos.

Comments

[Jimmy]

I personally have been driving chevy's the whole time I have been driving and have never had an engine problem that wasn't to be expected of a car its age. my 94 camaro z28 has 150,000 miles on it and has the original rotors on it even. The rotors have been turned before, but I still have the original ones on there. the whole engine is still original in it. the differential that some spirited drivers tear up has never had problems. I drive the car to the drag stip once a month and run it 5-10 times each time. I think a car that handle that and get so many miles on it is a reliable car. The new z06 should be no exception to that. It is built on a strong platform with an engine that is bulletproof for another 350hp over what it comes stock with.

[Bryan Seyer]

150,000 miles huh? You act like that's alot. Mere childsplay for almost "All" Honda's. When you get to 375,000 on your original extraordinary "Chevy" then come back. Sorry we won't ever see you again!

[Roberto]

Gee Bryan, you'd love the POS Honda Civic I drove for 6 years which had an exhaust system that spent more time falling off than staying on. Equally you'd love the alternator that failed before it even got to 60,000 miles leaving me stranded.

My brand new Chevy Malibu is a dream to drive and light years beyond any POS Honda (or might I say con-da because you're conned into thinking that they sell good cars) on the road.

[JB]

Bryan would also love my Japanese 2003 Subaru Forester. This elite Japanese car started to leak radiator fluid before it reached 100,000 miles. It appears to have a gasket head issue that is going to be costly. This problem is very common. I heard this issue mentioned on car talk and did some research online. Why is the Forester and other Subaru cars ranked so high when they have had these gasket head issues for YEARS?