2014 Hyundai Accent Se on 2040-cars

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BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

China, meet Hyundai's new Mistra sedan

If there was no Hyundai badge, the front end styling of the Korean automaker's new China-only Mistra sedan could have fooled us into thinking it was a refreshed Nissan Altima. Walk around for profile and rear-end views, and we can see more than a bit of Azera in the newest Hyundai, too.
But the Mistra is indeed made for the Chinese market, Carscoops reports, and with a 185.6-inch length, 109.1-inch wheelbase and 71.7-inch width, in size it slots right between the Elantra and Sonata sedans. On the outside, the Mistra maintains Hyundai design cues but loses some of the swoopy styling employed on the Elantra and Sonata for more straight lines and angles.
The Mistra carries its more-restrained-than-Sonata looks to the interior, where occupants will be pleased to find brushed aluminum-look accents on the dashboard, some nice-looking wood trim (if that's your thing) and an easy-to-read instrument cluster with a digital center readout, similar to that in the Genesis sedan.

This is the Genesis I've been waiting for

In November Hyundai finally confirmed everyone's years long suspicion and announced the creation of its own global luxury brand, naming it the obvious choice, Genesis. The press release revealed a few important details, the biggest probably being that six models will be under the new brand by 2020. We can already account for at least two of these models as newly branded Equus and Genesis sedan models (possibly the coupe as a third) but we are left wondering for the rest. There is a strong argument for the Azera, as it was recently cut from Hyundai's line-up and the obvious choice of bringing in some ever important crossover models, especially while remembering the Veracruz experiment. The newly minted luxury name adds another player to an ever crowded high-end market, but a growing one, where there is room for deviation from the pack. Can Hyundai fill that niche and crack a historically expensive market to enter? I think so. Part of the Genesis plan is in crafting a proper luxury buying environment, what it calls its "hassle-free customer experience." It is unclear if this will mean fixed market pricing and no-negotiating terms but we can certainly draw that conclusion. As much as consumers claim they don't want to hassle, past attempts at fixed pricing have had mixed results. Though, with the emergence of Tesla as a real luxury contender using that kind of pricing model, maybe it's something thats time has finally come. When Hyundai introduced the Equus to the American market they placed an emphasis on the customer experience, requesting that each Equus qualified Hyundai dealership assign an "Equus Champion" to specifically handle all Equus inquires and follow a meticulously designed sales process. This salesperson had to take extra online training and pass multiple choice tests to maintain their position to sell Equus. Hyundai knows that customers buying a $60,000 vehicle expect a different experience than those buying a $30,000 one. The former group is more in tune to the concierge experience, a complete envelopment of the buyers attention and needs. Hyundai achieved this with personal on call attention from the Equus Champion, who went so far as picking up the customers vehicle well after purchase, dropping off a Genesis sedan loaner, and taking care of the entire vehicle service process (included free of charge of course) without barely any customer involvement.