Car owners love the Volt, hate the Versa

 

Consumer Reports finds that many owners of hybrids and sports cars would buy the same models all over again.

Owners of the Chevrolet Volt love the plug-in hybrid so much that 92 percent of them would buy it again.

That score beat out Corvette and Porsche 911 owners by one percentage point, according to the latest owner satisfaction survey from Consumer Reports. Unlike the magazine's lengthy annual reliability report, the owner satisfaction survey is about time travel. Well, almost: The single-question survey asked owners of 2010 to 2013 models if they would buy the same vehicle if they could "do it all over again."

From the responses, which included more than 240 models and 350,000 specific vehicles, 44 cars ranked among the most satisfying. To achieve that rating, at least 80 percent of owners had to respond "definitely yes" to that hypothetical question.

Not surprisingly, most owners of fast cars were happy with their present lives. Buyers of the Chevrolet Camaro SS, Audi S4 and even the Mazda Miata scored 84 percent, and V8 versions of the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger scored 87 and 90 percent, respectively.

Owners of hybrids and electric cars, given their smug clouds, were of course in little doubt. In addition to the Volt, the Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid and Nissan Leaf all scored 85 percent or higher. Even owners of the new Prius c, a car that Consumer Reports absolutely hates, scored 87 percent. Diesel owners were feeling good, too, with 80 percent cheering for the Volkswagen Golf TDI, but only 77 percent were confident they would buy the Audi A3 TDI.

Luxury car owners love the Audi A7 (90 percent), Lexus GS (89 percent) and 6-cylinder Audi A6 (88 percent). We would, too.

Then there are the people who hate their car and would change everything. Nissan Versa owners gave the survey's lowest satisfaction numbers, at just 49 percent. Many owners of the Mitsubishi Outlander, Suzuki SX4, Nissan Armada and V6 versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra also were desperate to go back in time. (Seriously, people, you really thought a V6 in a full-size GM pickup was a good idea?)

We could think of other life decisions in our past that we'd happily do "all over again." Then again, maybe we wouldn't. Or would we? Please, Consumer Reports, never ask this question again.

Courtesy of: MSN editorial