Most researched new and used cars for 2013

Most researched new and used cars for 2013

As we’re about to close the door on 2013 and ring in 2014, we decided to take a look back at which vehicles were the most popular on our site. We checked out new and used models subscribers were researching on ConsumerReports.org for the last year based on visits to our info-rich model pages.

Every day potential car buyers look to our independent test scores and reliability survey results to aid their research and help determine the best vehicle to buy for their needs. We looked at visits to our vehicle model overview pages from Jan. 1 through Dec. 15, 2013, to compile this list of the top 10 most popular new and used cars.

So, what are car buyers looking for? SUVs and sedans are heavily researched among subscribers in new and used categories. All the top new car models listed are from Asian brands and do well in our tests; we often see that our subscribers gravitate toward vehicles that tend to populate our myriad “best” lists. The Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester were quite close in the new car list, with a clear advantage over the third-place Honda Accord. This follows what we have seen in our surveys, that there is much movement in purchase intent toward small SUVs from car owners moving up and down in size. What may be surprising to some is that there are no pickup trucks (the most popular vehicle type) on either list.

Similar models comprise the used-car list. The close race in this group is the near statistical ties between the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Another key difference is the BMW 3 Series being the lone European model to find such favor, and the only luxury model in the used list.

From our lists below, presented in rank order, click on the model names to visit their model pages and learn why they are drawing so much attention.