Best Car Rankings: MotoPickers Choices, 2024

Best Car Rankings: MotoPickers Choices, 2024

This is not an easy call to make for anyone, as there is a lot of real car quality out there. In addition, many of us are loyal to brands, often because we haven’t been let down by them, and we think, ‘Better the devil you know.’ To shift elsewhere feels like a risk.

But here are four brands in four segments that we think offer compelling and quality cars and trucks across their range. These are well known brands whose engines, build-quality, kit offer, and all round safety and driveability are top rank.

To give you a great spread, we have opted here to give you our MotoPickers top Car brand, top SUV brand, top Truck brand, and our top Luxury brand. The winning brand is determined in each category by taking an average of our MotoPickers overall score from each vehicle the brand has in that category. Each winning brand is the one that invariably offers a compelling combination of performance, interior quality, safety and reliability.

Whatever your own favored brand, keep your mind open. It’s worthwhile knowing what are considered industry-leading alternatives when you’re out choosing your perfect transport. Read on to learn about the MotoPicker four winning brands.

MotoPickers Best Car Brand: Honda

Honda do it again! For the second year running, Honda comes out on top to take the title of Best Car Brand, thanks to a few special models that offer class-leading quality.

Starting with the smallest offering, the Honda Civic has been a long-standing leader and winner in the compact car market. It solidified its position with a sharp and effective redesign for the 2022 model year. Now in its 11th generation, the Civic still offers a great mix of qualities among affordable small cars. For a competitive price, you are offered comfortable seats and ergonomic controls and the build quality is that of a car much more expensive than the Civic. Space wise, it is also a good option if you need carrying capacity.

From a performance standpoint, the Civic has always been a very strong contender. It handles sharply and is fun to drive. If you need real power, the Civic Si is properly fast, while the iconic Type R is among the finest hot hatch cars available anywhere. It’s becoming legendary.

MotoPickers Best Car Brand: Honda

Like the Civic, the larger Honda Accord has led in its midsize segment for years. The current crop of models has garnered extensive praise among car mags and car journalists as a benchmark for affordable and highly effective sedans. Not only is it comfortably in the lead of the midsize car segment, but it’s also been the winner of our Best Cars for the Money and Best Cars for Families awards.

It’s spacious inside and has great quality materials. Rear seats are incredibly roomy, and the trunk is one of the most spacious in the class. Its handling is also excellent, and it drives as an athletic and punchy car capable of anything you need it to do. It has a great 2.0 liter engine.

If fuel economy is a priority over performance, then the excellent Accord Hybrid is a great option. It comes with many of the same high-end attributes as the conventional gas-powered Accord, while putting more money back in your pocket with its excellent mpg. It’s this all round ability that has helped the Accord Hybrid earn the title of 2024 Best Hybrid for Families.

Check out our Honda deals page for the best finance and lease deals available for this truck.

MotoPickers Best SUV Brand: Hyundai

The Korean powerhouse is on a roll.

Compact SUVs are highly sought after in the current market and the Hyundai Tucson is one of the best additions to this very competitive segment. It currently ranks among the best in class, thanks to a high-end, spacious and elegant cabin that is comfortable for all. The Tucson Hybrid has the same interior and infotainment features, but even stronger fuel economy, whether you choose conventional hybrid or PHEV plug-in variants.

Part of Hyundai’s success is because hybrids aren’t its only area of expert offer. The electric market is catered for superbly by the Ioniq 5, which is arguably the most beautiful of all electric SUVs. Hyundai’s battery and motor designs allow the Ioniq 5 to have a massive interior even though its footprint is modest. The engine is a peach, and can deliver over 300 horsepower in the right configuration. Hyundai’s Kona EV is another battery-powered SUV in the brand’s lineup that delivers competitive range and performance at a high value price.

MotoPickers Best SUV Brand: Hyundai

In midsize SUV markets Hyundai also has some compelling offers. The Hyundai Palisade currently enjoys the top ranking among midsize SUVs, thanks in part to an upscale interior that is one of the best among affordable three row SUVs. It comes packed with infotainment and safety features, and delivers a refined ride. The two row Hyundai Santa Fe is also top-ranking. It is a great all-rounder and it has won a number of awards, most notably our 2022 Best 2-Row SUV for the Money. The hybrid version offers terrific fuel efficiency.

In the smaller SUV class, Hyundai’s Kona and Venue are also extremely good options. These two are the brand’s smallest offerings, but pack great kit levels and have fine interior space. We think the Kona deserves its victory in our recent 2022 Best New Cars for Teens assessment. That same car also won our 2022 Best Subcompact SUV for the Money.

Check out our Hyundai deals page for the best finance and lease deals available for this truck.

MotoPickers Best Truck Brand: Ram

Pickup trucks are the USA’s best-selling vehicles. We are addicted to them. They are benchmarks of American living. This makes the competition robust. Ram is our 2024 Best Truck Brand, on account of a real burst of luxury into recent vehicles.

The Ram 1500 is the heart of the brand’s pickup lineup, and a perennial leader in our truck rankings. At its heart, the 1500 is built for utility, and can be had in a variety of configurations to suit a truly wide range of needs. You can have it in two different cab styles and bed lengths, set up either for work crews or family living.

Powertrain options are numerous as well. Options include both gas and diesel V6 motors, and two different V8 engines. In the top-trim Ram 1500 TRX, the supercharged V8 puts out a massive 702 horsepower. This is truly sublime when kicked into action.

When properly configured, the 1500 can tow up to 12,750 pounds and haul up to 2,300 pounds. Though not quite best in class, that’s still more than enough power for most. If you need to tow or haul more weight, even heavier duty variants are available.

MotoPickers Best Truck Brand: Ram

Where the Ram 1500 really distinguishes itself from the competition is on the inside. When it comes to material quality and design, the 1500 is streets ahead. Its interior is among the first to deserve the accolade of luxury in the truck world. We think Ram’s infotainment system is also best in class. The truck can be equipped with a huge touch screen, again largest in its class, and you can cleverly customize the menu to offer personalized shortcuts for ease of use.

The Ram 1500 is also a great ride, probably second only across the whole class to the Rivian R1T, but the Rivian is electric and is much more expensive. Like the Rivian, the Ram can be equipped with an air suspension system which soaks up bumps and gives the 1500 a notably cushy feel. Though this is a tremendously useful vehicle, it is far from being merely utilitarian.
Overall, we think the Ram 1500 is an exceptional pickup. Regardless of configuration, the truck is outfitted to tackle any needs any driver might reasonably have. Work, leisure, adventure, off- road grit, on-road cruising; it does it all.

Check out our Ram deals page for the best finance and lease deals available for this truck.

MotoPickers Best Luxury Brand: Porsche

This German marque is a world-great. Its reputation for joyful and sublime motoring is well known globally. That said, there is a huge amount of competition out there for Luxury Brand accolades. In spite of that, Porsche takes our MotoPickers 2024 Best Luxury Brand title.

Porsche has built its reputation on premium performance, and the latest generation 911 continues the heritage into the 2020s. This is one of the all-time great luxury sports cars. Few other cars on the market can match the 911’s ability to succeed as both an urban street driver and also a mountainside snakeshifter. If the price point is too high, then Porsche enables you to choose the Cayman, which is almost impossibly good fun and value. Its Boxster twin is also offered for those who like their motoring thrills with the option of the roof down.

The 911’s commitment to its original recipe is not necessarily the story for the rest of the Porsche lineup. The electric Taycan brings handling delight and Porsche’s matchless build quality to the luxury electric car segment.. The sublime Panamera is a more established four door option from Porsche, but, though it works for the family, it is still a panther-like machine, rapid, beautiful, and desirable. It’s one of the sportiest options in the super luxury car segment.

MotoPickers Best Luxury Brand: Porsche

If sports coupes and sedans lack the practicality you need, then Porsche offers you the Macan. Like its stablemates in their own segments, the Macan is the most athletic option available in the luxury compact SUV class. It steers and brakes better than its competitors and has a ride quality that is honed to perfection for various driving styles. Two engine options are available, so you can evaluate whether raw power or more balanced fuel consumption matters more to you.

The Cayenne is the largest Porsche car available. As the largest Porsche, this luxury two-row SUV expands space for occupants and cossets them with absolutely premium materials and ergonomics. While one of the most expensive options in the luxury midsize SUV segment, it is outfitted at a very high level. Trim levels range widely as well, starting with a base V6 option and zipping up to the raspingly fun Cayenne Turbo GT. Very few cars of any type anywhere approach the capabilities offered by a V8 Cayenne. A hybrid is also available and it, too, is astonishingly powerful and capable.

Check out our Porsche deals page for the best finance and lease deals available for these luxury vehicles.

Our MotoPickers Methodology

The Best Vehicle Brand awards are our objective assessment of quality across all of a brand’s offerings in the categories we have offered here: Cars, SUVs, Trucks and Luxury. Brand ratings are based on the MotoPickers Best Cars overall scores for each vehicle, and in making our judgements we pay heed to consensus opinion among the car and automobile press, as well as having an awareness of safety and reliability data.

MotoPickers Best Vehicle Brands of 2024

• MotoPickers Best Car Brand: Honda
• MotoPickers Best SUV Brand: Hyundai
• MotoPickers Best Truck Brand: Ram
• MotoPickers Best Luxury Brand: Porsche