SMART PICKS UNDER $30,000 < 2019 SUBARU CROSSTREK TM 248 Models New Cars Rated 2019 TOYOTA BEST RAV4 SUVS COMPACT SUVs Worth Buying GET TOP $$$ TRUCKS For Your Trade-In STANDOUT TIRES From Our Tests CARS JULY 2019 CR.ORG A NEW EV CHALLENGER TO TESLA Please display until July 15, 2019 Contents JULY 2019 Honda CR-V Versatile, efficient, and affordable, it’s just one of the top-rated compact SUVs we tested. P. 22 3 Ask Our Experts We answer your questions about car rentals. STARTING UP 4 Get Top Dollar for Your Used Car Should you sell your old car or trade it in? CR’s experts prepare you for the dealership with money-saving strategies. ON THE ROAD 12 New Models for 2020 Our fi rst impressions of the P. 20 Cadillac XT6, Ford Explorer, Hyundai Palisade, Subaru Legacy, and Toyota Supra. 16 At the Track We drive Jaguar’s new I-Pace EV, the redesigned Audi A6 and Volvo S60, and two new SUVs with familiar names. 22 The Best Compact SUVs We rate the new 2019 Toyota RAV4 against popular competitors from Subaru, Mazda, and Honda. RATINGS 30 New Cars Under $30K From subcompacts to minivans, we pick the best—and off er P. 34 P. 30 used-car alternatives. RATINGS RATINGS & REFERENCE FOLLOW CONSUMER REPORTS' EXPERTS 184 Road-Test Highlights FACEBOOK Performance data from our fb.com/ consumerreportscars test-track program. Lexus RX 350L YOUTUBE 190 Safety Features and /consumerreports Crash-Test Ratings Top Tires 34 46 Vehicle Ratings Important information for INSTAGRAM We help you choose the We rank all of the vehicles each model in this issue. /crcars best ones for your vehicle. that we’ve tested. RATINGS 196 Vehicle Dimensions TWITTER 58 Vehicle Profiles Key interior and exterior @CRCars 40 Standout Models Expert reviews of measurements. The best cars, SUVs, and 248 cars, minivans, SUVs, trucks from our tests. and trucks. PINTEREST /consumerreports CR.ORG/CARS NEW CARS 1 From the Editor New CarsTM President and CEO Marta L. Tellado Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Leonora Wiener Vice President, Chief Content Officer Gwendolyn Bounds Editor in Chief, Consumer Reports Magazine Diane Salvatore Design Director Matthew Lenning Creative Director, Brand Young Kim Associate Design Director Sheri Geller Art Directors Tammy Morton Fernandez, Lisa Slater, Tracy Stora Photo Editors Emilie Harjes, Karen Shinbaum Vice President, Research, Testing & Insights Liam McCormack Senior Director, Content Development Glenn Derene Deputy Directors, Content Development Christopher Kirkpatrick Associate Directors, Content Development Scott Billings, Althea Chang Senior Director, Content Impact & Corporate Outreach Jen Shecter Editorial Director, Digital Erle Norton Senior Director, Product Testing Maria Rerecich Auto Test Center Patrick Olsen, Content Lead Editors/Writers: Keith Barry, Jeff S. Bartlett, Jonathan Linkov, Mike Monticello, Jeff Plungis Auto Test Center: Jake Fisher, Jennifer Stockburger, Directors Product Testers: Michael Bloch, Child Seat Project Leader; Frank Chamberlain, Track Maintenance Specialist; Erik Dill, Facilities Manager; Steve Elek, Senior Automotive Data Analyst; Kelly Funkhouser, Program Manager, Vehicle Interface; John Ibbotson, Chief Mechanic; Michael Jascot, Maintenance Specialist; Chris Jones, Auto Tire Technician; Steve Kuczynski, Facilities Technician; Anita Lam, Associate Director, Automotive Data Integration; Gene Petersen, Tire Program Manager; Ryan The CR Difference Pszczolkowski, Auto Tire Technician; Mike Quincy, Automotive Content Specialist; Mary Reed, Business Manager; Gabriel Shenhar, Associate DIP YOUR TOE into the car- publication or website. Director, Auto Test Program, Vehicle Dynamics; Shawn Sinclair, Automotive buying market and you’ll soon First, because we buy every Engineer; Emily A. Thomas, Automotive Safety Engineer; Joe Veselak, Senior Testing Technician; Seung Min “Mel” Yu, Automotive Analyst be faced with a challenge: vehicle we test and our testers Chief Scientific Officer James H. Dickerson Wait and see what comes out live with each one, we can tell Product Safety Don Huber, Director; Doris Sullivan, Associate Director down the road, or drive a you which models fulfill their Content Systems & Operations Strategy Robert Kanell, Director new car home today? manufacturer claims … and Content Operations David Fox, Director; William Breglio; Anthony Terzo Production Eric W. Norlander, Manager; Letitia Hughes, Terri Kazin To help guide your decision, which promises weren’t kept. Photography John Powers, John Walsh on page 10 we cover the Second, owners tell us Imaging Francisco Collado, Mark Linder redesigned Ford Explorer about their experiences with Content Coordination Nancy Crowfoot, Associate Director; Diane Chesler, Aileen McCluskey and Subaru Legacy, the new their own vehicles through our Copy Editing Leslie Monthan, Copy Chief; Noreen Browne, Alison Cadillac XT6 and Hyundai surveys. In our exclusive Auto France, Wendy Greenfield Fact Checking David Schipper, Manager; Kathleen Adams, Tracy Palisade, the sleek Toyota Survey, our members report Anderman, Sarah Goralski, Christine Gordon, Karen Jacob Supra, and other exciting the specific problems they Consumer Engagement Testing Charu Ahuja, Director; Linda Greene, models coming later this year. have experienced. From this, Samuel Chapman Statistics & Data Science Michael Saccucci, Director; Andrew Cohen, If you want to buy now, we provide detailed reliability Dina Haner, Keith Newsom-Stewart, Martin Romm check page 14 for our insights histories and predict how Survey Research Karen Jaffe, Simon Slater; Dave Gopoian, Kendra on brand-new models that are likely the new models are to be Johnson, Debra Kalensky, Martin Lachter, Jane Manweiler, Adam Troy currently on sale: the Audi trouble-free or trouble-prone. Administration Decarris Bryant, Donna Johnson, John McCowen A6, Chevrolet Blazer, Honda But that’s not all. Our Consumer Insight Monica Liriano, Associate Director; Frank Yang; Joey Edwards, Teneisha Thomas Passport, Jaguar I-Pace, and exclusive owner satisfaction Marketing Dawn Nelson, Senior Director; Patricia McSorley, Newsstand Volvo S60. survey data gives us insights Procurement Operations Steven Schiavone, Associate Director The widely sold Toyota RAV4 into how happy owners are Vice President, Chief Communications Officer Matt Anchin; Vice and Subaru Forester have both with their vehicles. President, Financial Planning & Analysis JoAnne Boyd; Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Cribari; Vice President, Chief been updated for 2019, and All the resulting knowledge Digital Officer Jason Fox; Vice President, Advocacy David Friedman; we put them up against other can help you make an informed Vice President, Chief Intelligence Officer Esther Han; Vice President, General Counsel Michael Hubner; Vice President, Social Impact top-ranking compact SUVs. buying decision that won’t be Partnerships Geoffrey MacDougall; Vice President, Business Strategy If you’re in the market for influenced by advertising hype. & Planning Betsy Parker; Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer one, don’t miss our review on Kim Stehle; Vice President, Chief Social Impact Officer Shar Taylor; Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Eric Wayne page 20. Jon Linkov and CR’s Auto CONSUMER REPORTS NEW CARS (ISSN 1530-3267) is published by Whether you’re buying or Test Center Team Consumer Reports, Inc., 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703. CONSUMER leasing, you can rely on CR’s REPORTS NEW CARS is registered in the U.S. Patent Office. Contents of this issue copyright © 2019 by Consumer Reports, Inc. All rights reserved ratings and reviews to steer under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. you in the right direction. The information in NEW CARS is intended solely for the use of its readers These are based on the most and may not be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose. For information on how Consumer Reports content can be used, go to comprehensive independent CR.org/nocommercialuse. Reproduction of this publication auto-testing program and in whole or in part is forbidden without prior written per- mission (and is never permitted for advertising purposes). reliability data of any U.S. CR’s staff operates under a contract between CR and The NewsGuild of New York Local 31003, CWA. Printed in U.S.A. JOHN POWERS PHOTO: 2 NEW CARS CR.ORG/CARS Ask Our Experts We answer your questions about rental cars, so you can enjoy that summer road trip. one of the majors, and can Q. I don’t rent cars often. Should I indeed charge less. Still, be sure to check local—and recent— $ still join a loyalty program from one online reviews on the smaller players. They may have bigger of the rental car companies? discounts, but sometimes their cars have higher mileage— meaning more wear and tear. Short answer? Yes. These no- rental car company may At some airports, the smaller cost programs often allow you to charge you for “loss of use,” companies may be located off- skip the long lines at the coun- which is the revenue it loses site while big players are right ters, choose your own vehicle, while a car is out of service next to baggage claim, or their How much you might and—conveniently—avoid the and being repaired. This can be shuttles may run less often. pay in added fees for person behind the counter who a significant amount of money. passing through tolls in a might try to upsell items you Some credit cards cover loss Q. How do I pay for tolls in rental car without paying. don’t need. Once you’ve found of use, either as a free benefit a rental car? SOURCE: PlatePass. the car and rate you want, sign or for an additional fee, but Some agencies rent e-toll up for the rental company’s many cards do not. So, before transponders for a daily fee, loyalty program before you you leave home, call your credit and others use a program travel. If you’ve already booked card company to be sure. If you like PlatePass, which auto- PlatePass at the rental counter your reservation, make sure have no alternative, consider matically bills your credit card and end up on a toll road that to add it to your loyalty profile.