Toyota Dominates Consumer Reports Used Car Recommendations

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Several Toyota models dominated this year’s Consumer Reports list of used car recommendations, with 11 out of 28 overall belonging to the automaker’s Scion, Lexus and namesake brands.

Automotive News reports the 2011-2012 Camry and 2010-2011 Camry Hybrid among the best sedans between $15,000 and $20,000, while the 2006-2007 Lexus RX shares the same pricing space with the non-turbo 2009-2010 Subaru Forester. The 2004-2007 Prius, 2004-2006 Scion xB and the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix twins all took the $10,000 or less small car category, while the 2008-2009 Highlander Hybrid, 2011 Avalon and 2006 Lexus LS took their respective segment spots for vehicles between $20,000 and $25,000.

Overall, all but three of the 28 recommended used cars were made in Japan or South Korea; the 2011-2012 Lincoln MKZ, 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid and the aforementioned Pontiac Vibe were the only domestics to make the recommendation list.

Consumer Reports also unveiled their “worst of the worst” used car picks, where all but six were made by the Detroit Three, including the Chevrolet Cruze 1.8-liter and Impala, the Chrysler/Dodge trio of minivans, and the orphaned Saturn Outlook and Relay. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and MINI make up the remainder of the 21 picks to avoid.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • CBXweb CBXweb on Mar 18, 2014

    I have a 06.5 xB automatic. I like the car because I can just *drive* it and not worry about it malfunctioning. It is pretty boring. And the MPG is 22 MPG, but I drive 90% in the city and I'm a jerk. I want to get something different, like a TSX or 350Z, but I can not truly justify spending more money just because I want to drive around a box truck faster.

  • Plee Plee on Mar 19, 2014

    My wife and I are leaving in a couple of days for a 2000 mile round trip from Nashville to the Northeast and back in our 2011 Taurus Limited. I am going to enjoy its smooth V6 which does 25 to 26 mpg on trips, the comfortable multi contour seats, the navigation system, the Sync system, blind spot monitors, heated/cooled seats etc. I am sure it will be just as enjoyable as our recent 2600 mile trip to Florida and back. Oh, man, just realized CR says it is cramped and unreliable. What am I going to do? It has had no warranty claims in 42000 miles and is a solid, tight car and gets many compliments. What a bunch of CR BS.

  • 95_SC 95_SC on Mar 19, 2014

    It isn't like it's 1984 anymore. Even the bad cars in CR are likely to be pretty decent. The difference in a black dot versus a red is much smaller than it used to be.

    • See 1 previous
    • SayMyName SayMyName on Mar 19, 2014

      What a f*cking farce if ever I've seen one. Such a blatant extortion tactic from Holder and Co. makes me want to rush out and buy a Camry today. Those wishing to gloat should perhaps be thanking Toyota instead. They just helped us recoup nearly 10% of the amount we lost in the GM bailout.

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