Subaru moves to top spot in automaker rankings

Consumer Reports named Subaru as its top all-around automaker, thanks largely to trio of newly redesigned vehicles.

Subaru's score of 75 out of 100 points was two points higher than it had earned in the influential magazine's 2011 survey. Honda, which had held the No. 1 ranking for the past four years, dropped to fourth place in the ranking of 13 major automakers.

The ratings, closely watched by consumers, are based on the magazine's average road tests and predicted reliability scores.

Consumer Reports pointed to better test scores from Subaru's Impreza, Legacy and Outback models, which were all redesigned in recent years. Also on Tuesday, the magazine released its list of top vehicle picks for 2012, with the Impreza ranked as the top small car.

Honda paid dearly for several redesigned models, including its popular Civic and Odyssey models, which didn't score as well as previous versions had.

Mazda posted dramatic improvements, according to Consumer Reports, adding nine points to its score and rising five spots to the No. 2 position, boosted by an improved version of the Mazda3 and the elimination of its weak scoring Tribute and RX-8 models, the magazine said.

Toyota rounded out the top three with a third-place finish. It accounted for five vehicles on the magazine's top picks list, including the Camry hybrid which won for best family sedan and the RAV4, which was named best small SUV.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. fell five places to tenth, largely as a result of problems with its MyFord Touch infotainment system and Power-Shift automatic transmission, Consumer Reports said. But its Mustang was named as the magazine's top pick for sports cars.

General Motors Co. and Chrysler LLC also failed to gain traction in the rankings, with Chrysler finishing last among the 13 automakers. Consumer Reports said both automakers were pulled down by older models that scored low or had reliability issues. But GM's Chevrolet Avalanche was named as the magazine's top choice for pickup trucks.