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The Street

Laura Rodini

Consumer Reports’ best American cars, trucks & SUVs of 2024

Consumer Reports SUV Ford Luxury Wikimedia Commons Tesla Inc. Buick CR Cadillac Chevrolet

Lately, when it comes to the automobile industry, brand identity is more of an existential question than a hard-known fact.

Along with globalization and, particularly, consumers’ shift toward hybrid and electric vehicles, automakers’ parts, technology, and even the very assembly lines their cars are built on have undergone major changes, blurring the lines in terms of where a car is actually “from.”

Take BMW for instance, which sources auto parts from suppliers in more than 70 countries, including Germany (its home base) and elsewhere in Europe, but has its production plants in Mexico, China, South Africa, and the U.S.

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Similarly, historically American brands, like Buick, now manufacture many of their vehicles outside the U.S., in China, South Korea, Germany, and Canada. Even Ford (F) , which built a reputation on its “American-made” cars and trucks, continues to operate domestically, in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Ohio, but now also has plants in Canada and Mexico.

Even brands like Honda (HMC) , Subaru, and Toyota, which were known for decades under the subheading of “foreign automakers” now build many of their vehicles stateside.

It’s enough to make your head spin.

What is an American car?

To find out what exactly defines an American car brand, we turned to Consumer Reports (CR), one of the country’s foremost product testing authorities whose primary mission is to help consumers make informed purchases.

The nonprofit organization has been around for 90 years, counts over 6 million people as subscribers, and has a $30 million testing budget, so you could say it’s a trusted name in both product research and consumer advocacy.

CR says it considers brands that were founded in the U.S. as well as currently headquartered here to be “American.” This includes automakers like Ford, GM (GM) , Stellantis (STLA) , and Tesla (TSLA) , although it also points out that these brands could have other operations elsewhere.

The cars that made Consumer Report’s list of Best American cars, trucks & SUVs also carry the “CR Recommended” distinction. This means that they have been independently tested and met or exceeded a 50-point evaluation that includes performance factors like braking, handling, and battery life, along with qualitative metrics like reliability and owner satisfaction.

The 12 vehicles that made the list are all 2024 models:

The best American cars, SUVs & trucks, according to Consumer Reports

Cadillac's CT4 is CR's pick in the American luxury compact category.
Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best luxury compact car: Cadillac CT4

Price range: $34,595–$61,495
Fuel economy: Overall 25 / City 16 / Hwy 38 mpg
CR ranking: #4 out of 7 luxury entry-level cars

Tesla's Model 3 is one of two top CR picks from the brand.
iMoD Official, CC BY 3&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best luxury electric car: Tesla Model 3

Price range: $38,990–$54,990
Fuel economy: Overall 130 / city 137 / hwy 124 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent)
CR ranking: #4 of 13 electric luxury cars

The Chevy Corvette earns top marks as CR's best American sports car.
Kidfly182, CC BY 4&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best sports car: Chevrolet Corvette

Price range: $68,300–$130,650
Fuel economy: Overall 19 / city 12 / hwy 29 mpg
CR ranking: #3 of 7 2-seat sports cars

Another Chevy, ranks high on CR's list of best compact American SUVs.
Booredatwork&period;com, CC BY 3&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox

Price range: $26,600–$33,400
Fuel economy: Overall 25 / city 17 / hwy 34 mpg
CR ranking: #23 of 33 compact SUVs

The Ford Edge was CR's pick for best American mid-sized SUV.
Dinkun Chen, CC BY-SA 4&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best midsized (2-row) SUV: Ford Edge

Price range: $38,465–$47,205
Fuel economy: Overall 22 / city 15 / hwy 31 mpg
CR ranking: #3 of 18 midsized SUVs

The Lincoln Corsair earned praise from Consumer Reports as its best American luxury compact SUV.
Bull-Doser, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Best luxury compact SUV: Lincoln Corsair

Price range: $38,990–$54,025
Fuel economy: Overall 23 / city 15 / hwy 33 mpg
CR ranking: #6 of 28 luxury compact SUVs

CR designated the Buick Enclave as its top American luxury SUV.
Deathpallie325, CC BY-SA 4&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best luxury (3-row) SUV: Buick Enclave

Price Range: $43,900–$59,500
Fuel economy: Overall 18 / city 12 / hwy 26 mpg
CR ranking: #4 of 16 luxury midsized 3-row SUVs

More on cars and Consumer Reports:

The Ford Mustang Mach-E was CR's pick for American electric SUV.
Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC BY 2&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best electric SUV: Ford Mustang Mach-E

Price Range: $39,995–$54,995
Fuel economy: Overall 90 / city 96 / hwy 84 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent)
CR ranking: #2 of 17 electric SUVs

Another Tesla, the Model Y, won in the American luxury electric SUV category.
AuHaidhausen, CC BY 4&period;0, via Wikimedia Commons

Best luxury electric SUV: Tesla Model Y

Price Range: $42,990–$51,490
Fuel economy: Overall 121 / city 127 / hwy 114 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent)
CR ranking: #4 of 20 electric luxury SUVs