Toyota Earns Most Consumer Reports Top Picks with Highlander, Yaris iA, and Prius

Consumer Reports 2017 Top Picks have been announced and Toyota leads the industry again with the most vehicles on this list. The Toyota Yaris iA took home the win in the subcompact category, the Highlander earned the highest score for midsize SUV, and the Prius won for the V8 performance car category. Kidding, just seeing if you were awake.

Consumer Reports Top Picks are based not just on the preferences of its staff, but rather, a compilation of factors. Here is how CR describes the judging: "To be a Top Pick, a model has to have an exemplary Overall Score in its category. This single number consolidates the findings from four key pillars: road-test performance, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety. A car that bests the competition by these measures is truly extraordinary."

In the safety category Toyota flat out cheats. That is because Consumer Reports gives extra credit for forward collision prevention systems. Toyota adds that active safety feature to its cars as a standard feature. Can you believe those guys?

In the reliability area, Toyota also does some shady things. For example, it builds its vehicles to a standard rather than a price point and therefore scores highest on every durability and reliability test known to mankind.

Owner satisfaction is a subjective area, but what is not in question is that owners keep Toyotas longer.

Mazda's Miata was also a segment winner on the Consumer Reports Top Pick list.