Consumer Reports’ (CR) officially released its annual Top 10 cars, trucks, and SUVs this week. Interestingly, the publication has added a new label to bring attention to, and give credit to, hybrid and electric cars.
CR’s new “Green Choice” designation is shown using a small green “leaf” icon next to each eligible vehicle. The annual study includes such categories as best overall, best reliability, and best road test, among many others. Interestingly, several hybrid and electric cars made the list in various categories.
While we don’t actually cover hybrids without a plug, we will note that, as expected, Toyota, the clear-cut king of hybrids, received much positive attention for its safe and reliable “Green Choice” vehicles that are also satisfying to own, according to their owners. The Prius, Camry Hybrid, and Corolla Hybrid are examples of such entries. Fortunately, Toyota is finally moving forward with fully electric cars, and it already produces a few compelling plug-in hybrids, such as the RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime.
CR also brought attention to the Tesla Model 3 for the same reasons, and it is, of course, marked as a Green Choice. According to Mashable, CR will be providing the green leaf icon from this point forward, so we should expect to see it in all studies provided by the organization. Green Choice cars have been proven by CR to emit fewer greenhouse gases than competing vehicles.
In Consumer Reports 2021 Top 10 list for Best Cars of the Year, four models are Green Choice entries, including the three Toyotas mentioned above, as well as the Tesla Model 3.
CR also chose Tesla, along with Audi and Porsche, as the leaders in the Best Road Test Score overall. This just further proves that Tesla, while only making Green Choice all-electric vehicles, can rival the likes of age-old legacy luxury automakers, such as Porsche and Audi. Moreover, these two brands, along with Volkswagen Group as a whole, are making notable strides in the pursuit of electrification.
