All- earlier today Consumer Reports announced the contents of their annual Auto Issue here in Washington. Here are some of the highlights for Mazda:
Recommended vehicles: CX-9, Mazda3, Mazda6, Mazda5, MX-5, and Tribute. It is important to note that they are recommending the new 2012 Mazda5 even though they haven’t completed testing on it and they don’t have reliability results for it yet. This is a vote of confidence for this vehicle on their part. RX-8 is not recommended because they tested it too long ago and they don’t have sufficient reliability data. Mazda2 is not recommended because they don’t have reliability data. CX-7 is not recommended because it scored too low in their testing, although they note that reliability has improved to average. Overall, the recommended vehicles for Mazda are the same as last year.
Mazda5 was also singled out as the Best Value in the wagon/minivan class. Mazda6 and MX-5 are also listed as good values in their class, although they aren’t the best.
In a “Best and Worst” feature at the front of the magazine, Mazda3 is listed as the “Driving enjoyment” champ for small sedans, and Mazda6 gets the same award for family sedans. In addition, Mazda2 is listed as one of the top performers for fuel economy, and Mazda3 is on their list of the “Best vehicles under $20,000.”
Mazda did not have any Top Picks this year. Being all new, they wouldn’t give this award to Mazda5 in the family hauler category this year. And the Sporty Car category, won in some past years by MX-5, went to Mustang this year.
In their “Grading the Automakers” section, Mazda gets a grade of 65, down from 71 last year. We still show an average test score of 75, but our recommended test vehicles dropped from 92% to 67%. This reflects the addition of Mazda2, but it is important to note that they say this number does not affect the OEM rating. This rating is based on average road test scores and average reliability ratings. The top three automakers are once again Honda, Subaru and Toyota, and Chrysler is once again at the bottom.
The April Auto Issue will be on sale on March 8th.
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