Consumer Reports: Buying a car that will make you happy

When you're buying a car, there are a lot of factors to think about, like mileage and horsepower.

Consumer Reports has survey data on more than 420,000 vehicles, and not just about gas mileage and reliability. Consumer Reports knows what cars are most likely to make you happy!

"We know this because we ask Consumer Reports members whether they would buy the same car again," said Consumer Reports Auto Editor Jon Linkov. "Their answer is the basis of Consumer Reports owner satisfaction score. We then look at how owners rate their cars on satisfaction in five categories: driving experience, comfort, value, styling, and dashboard controls."

Ultimately owner satisfaction is an individual thing, but there are some interesting trends.

For example, women were most satisfied by the Kia Telluride, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Ford Expedition, while men preferred the Tesla Model S and the Hyundai Santa Fe.

What about where you live? Well folks in the Midwest were happiest with the Chevy Bolt. For the South, it's the Ford Expedition, Tesla Model S in the West, and the Toyota Avalon in the North!

What about by age? Millennials like the Subaru Ascent. GenX, the Tesla Model S, Boomers are likely to be happy with a Ford Expedition and the Silent Generation loves the Genesis G90.

But, the top vehicle for everyone in every category is the Tesla Model 3.

"Cars that inspire the strongest loyalty are fun to drive, reliable, deliver great fuel economy or can be driven solely on electricity, or provide a high-tech, luxurious driving environment," Linkov said.

Consumer Reports has also found price matters when considering happiness. The more you spend on a car, the more likely you are to be satisfied with it!

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