Consumer Reports 10 ‘Top Pick’ Cars for 2024

This year’s top 10 includes many new vehicles that weren’t on the 2023 list.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

February 27, 2024

10 Slides
Consumer Reports Top Picks 2024
Consumer Reports

At a Glance

  • Trend toward electrification
  • Seven new entries in the Top 10
  • Six cost less than $30,000

The annual roundup of ten “Top Pick” cars from Consumer Reports for 2024 shakes things up, with only three cars returning from last year’s roster and seven new models.

This list downplays things like style or driving fun to focus on practical factors such as price, safety, and efficiency. The organization also considers its surveys to include predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in the ratings.

This year’s theme is a shift to electrification. That doesn’t mean the Top Picks are all battery-electric EVs, but many of them incorporate some level of electrification as either a hybrid-electric model or a plug-in hybrid. Currently, electrified models account for just 16.3 percent of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales according to Ward’s Intelligence.

Consumer Reports’ new Top Picks list demonstrates that models with fully or partially electrified powertrains can surpass the overall performance of their conventional counterparts,” said Alex Knizek, manager of automotive testing and insights for Consumer Reports. “Among the standouts this year are one EV, three PHEVs, and three hybrids.”

Consumer Reports realizes that for good cars to be beneficial, they must be affordable so consumers can actually buy them. The organization named six cars in their top 10 whose base prices start at less than $30,000, while the average price paid for a new vehicle is more than $48,000.

Related:Consumer Reports 10 'Top Pick' Cars for 2023

To see which ones might be suitable for your driving needs, click through our slide show.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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