2007 Best Bets Are Here!
It happens every year right around this time…calls and e-mails roll in from folks looking to buy a new car. “What are the best cars on the road? Which car is least likely to give me problems?” Obviously, we can’t look into a crystal ball–any type of car could be defective, either due to manufacturer problems or misdiagnosis in the service department. However, we thought it would be in consumers’ best interest to find an objective annual source to refer them to. Five years ago, we came across some very comprehensive information from well known automotive consumer advocate Jack Gillis. Each year, Jacks puts out his Ultimate Car Book and thankfully, year after year, he has allowed us to share his findings with consumers.
“Best Bets” are based on expected performance in ten categories (crash tests, safety features, fuel economy, rollover, overall, maintenance and repair costs, warranties, insurance costs, and complaints), with the greatest emphasis placed on crash test performance and complaints. Vehicles are organized by size class for your convenience. If you are interested, you can purchase the 2007 Ultimate Car Book by visiting the Center for Auto Safety’s website at https://www.autosafety.org/.
Now, without further ado, he are are Jack’s 2007 “Best Bets”:
Subcompact
BMW Z4
Hyundai Accent
Kia Rio
Volkswagen Beetle
Compact
Audi A4
BMW 3-Series
Honda Civic
Hyundai Elantra
Kia Spectra
Nissan Sentra
Toyota Corolla
Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Rabbit/GTI
Volvo S40/V50/C70
Intermediate
Acura TSX
Chevy Malibu/Maxx
Ford Fusion/Milan/MKZ
Honda Accord SDN/TL
Hyundai Sonata
Kia Optima
Mitsubishi Galant
Nissan Altima
Toyota Camry/Lexus ES 350
Volvo V70
Large
Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis
Lincoln Town Car
Minivan
Buick Terraza/Relay
Chevy Uplander
Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town and Country
Ford Freestar/Mercury Monterey
Hyundai Entourage
Kia Sedona
SUV Small
Hyundai Tucson
Kia Sportage
Saturn VUE
SUV Midsize
Infiniti FX
Kia Sorento
Mitsubishi Endeavor
Subaru Outback/Legacy
Toyota Highlander/Lexus RX350
SUV Large
Audi Q7
If you live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, or Ohio, feel free to call us at 1-800-LEMON LAW (1-800-536-6652), and we’ll be happy to answer your questions, address your concerns, and – if applicable – file a claim on your behalf. If we are able to help, there is no cost to you at any time!
September 30th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I was just curious if you have had much feedback on the VW Rabbits? I’ve seem to heard a lot lately that around 50,000- 60,000 miles, that they start having a lot of problems and are quite pricey to repair?? I am interested in possibly purchasing one, but am trying to do as much research on them as possible. Thank you!
October 8th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I would be very cautious when purchasing a used car outside of the manufacturers warranty. If you are thinking about buying a used car, check out our lemon dodger worksheet at https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemondodger.html. Also, I would visit the recall and defect database at https://www.nhtsa.gov (the website for the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration). Safe driving.
October 30th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Now that we are a decade out from the 2007 list, we can see how far off Jack was. Nissans have nothing but problems with their CVT transmissions (made by Jatco), with a huge failure rate under 100,000 miles. Spectra is considered by some as the worst car of the early 2000’s. All Subaru’s of this era have terrible record for head gaskets and automatic transmission failures. And the Beetles are considered exceedingly unreliable in general. By 2017, the Malibus are considered mediocre, as are a number of the others.
I base my information on TrueDelta.com and a few other websites.