For the second year in a row, the all-electric Tesla Model S has come out on top as the best car Consumer Reports has tested. The magazine calls it a "technological tour de force, a high-performance electric vehicle with usable real-world range."
It's also one of three American cars to earn a slot among Consumer Reports' Top Picks this year, the first time that's happened since 1998.
To be named a "Top Pick," a car has to get the best scores in the magazine's performance tests plus it has to have average or better predicted reliability as measured in Consumer Reports' annual owner survey.
Consumer Reports is widely considered to be the single most influential magazine among car shoppers. Published by the not-for-profit group Consumers Union, Consumer Reports purchases all the cars it tests rather than relying on vehicles supplied by manufacturers. It also does not publish paid advertising. All the cars are tested on the magazine's Connecticut test track as well as on real roads.
