US News honors best CPO program, top vehicle brands

For the fourth consecutive year, Lexus has won the best certified pre-owned program award from U.S. News & World Report.

Lexus won that category in the Best Vehicle Brand awards and Best Certified Pre-Owned Program award from U.S. News & World Report, which said it awarded Lexus the honor based on its lengthy warranty coverage, its various program perks and its pre-owned vehicles’ dependability record.

“Lexus has a well-deserved reputation for reliability that makes Lexus models appealing CPO cars,” US. News Best Cars executive editor Jamie Page Deaton said in a news release. “On top of that record of dependability, Lexus offers used car buyers an excellent CPO warranty, as well as a long list of CPO program benefits, like free maintenance visits and a free loaner car.”

The awards also name best car brand, best SUV brand, and best truck brand, with Mazda, Hyundai, and Ram taking those honors respectively.

The Best Vehicle Brand awards evaluate 34 brands and recognize industry-wide excellence for cars, SUVs, trucks and luxury vehicles.

To help consumers narrow their search for a new car, the awards highlight the best brand in the four major segments of the automotive marketplace. The Best Certified Pre-Owned Program award uses data from the U.S. News Best Used Cars rankings and each auto brand’s CPO program parameters, highlighting the CPO program that offers the most benefits to buyers.

For the 2021 Best Vehicle Brand winners, Mazda won the Best Car Brand award on the strength of the Mazda3, Mazda6 and Mazda MX-5 Miata. All three models place an emphasis on direct, sporty handling. Also, their quality interiors are more upscale than their price tags might suggest, according to U.S. News. Mazda wins this award for the sixth consecutive year. 

The publication said Hyundai wins the Best SUV Brand award because of its fresh, new lineup of SUVs in all sizes. The large Hyundai Palisade, the midsize Santa Fe, compact Tucson and subcompact Venue are vehicles in the Hyundai SUV lineup, and U.S. News says that with so many updated models, Hyundai SUVs are affordable and offer buyers the latest in driver assistance and infotainment technology. Hyundai wins the Best SUV Brand award for the first time.

On the strength of the Ram 1500, Ram wins the Best Truck Brand award. U.S. News says the Ram is one of the few trucks on the market that can be seen as a work vehicle and a daily driver. The vehicle’s coil-over suspension makes the Ram comfortable enough for commuting with capability for serious towing and hauling.

“The Ram interior features a top-notch infotainment system with intuitive controls and a huge touch screen,” U.S. News wrote in a news release. “The interiors of high-end Ram trims feature materials that keep pace with what luxury SUVs offer.” 

Regarding Best Luxury Brand, Porsche wins that category for the sixth consecutive year. U.S. News says the brand is known for sports cars, but the Porsche lineup includes vehicles that combine performance with “upscale panache” in an effortless manner.

“Though almost any Porsche is at home on a racetrack, all models feature driver-focused interiors built with high-end materials and plenty of comfort,” U.S. News writes. 

 Deaton said that although many buyers know what type of vehicle they want, they don’t always know the best brands for their needs.

“The Best Vehicle Brand awards point consumers to the brands that excel in producing the type of vehicle each buyer is interested in,” Deaton said.

Regarding Lexus as the 2021 Best Certified Pre-Owned Program winner, the Lexus CPO warranty includes coverage for up to two years. That also comes with no mileage limit and no deductible. Lexus CPO buyers can also receive free roadside assistance and a free loaner car. In addition, they receive four complimentary factory maintenance service visits in their first two years or 20,000 miles of ownership. 

To determine the award winners, U.S. News Best Cars averaged the overall score of all the given brand’s products in each award class. U.S. News named the brand with the highest overall average score as the winner in the category. The overall scores come directly from the U.S. News Best Cars rankings. Those rankings are based on a combination of the consensus of the automotive press, safety scores and reliability data.