The best offers from Consumer Reports' top auto makers

In its debut showing, luxury newcomer Genesis Motors snagged the top spot in Consumer Reports' 2018 ranking of the best auto makers. Genesis narrowly edged out last year's victor, Audi, which along with BMW, Lexus and Porsche rounded out the top five. In eighth place, Tesla was the only American brand to place in the top 10.

"It's pretty impressive. Genesis is a brand that a lot of people don't really know about and they're doing a whole lot right. While there are other luxury vehicles on the market, these are luxury vehicles that are reliable. They have a lot of features and electronics, but they work and actually aren't that complicated or distracting like other models wind up doing," said Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports.

The annual ranking conducted by Consumer Reports ranks auto makers mainly based on a composite of their road-test scores and the predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings gathered on over 640,000 vehicles.

Here are Consumer Reports' top ten brands along with their overall composite scores:

1. Genesis (81 points)

2. Audi (80 points)

3. BMW (79 points)

4. Lexus (77 points)

5. Porsche (77 points)

6. Kia (76 points)

7. Subaru (76 points)

8. Tesla (74 points)

9. Honda (73 points)

10. Toyota (72 points)

We've featured some of our favourite offers this week from Consumer Reports' best car brands. If you don't find an offer that suits you, be sure to check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest incentives and discounts on any new car, truck or SUV.

2018 Genesis G80 3.3T Sport

Not only is Genesis ranked as Consumer Reports' best brand in terms of reliability and owner satisfaction, it is also the first auto maker ever to offer an entirely online end-to-end car purchase experience. From the initial test drive to the final paperwork, it can all be delivered to your door through a service called Genesis at Home. After the successful launch of the G80 mid-size and G90 full-size sedans over a year ago, Genesis recently debuted its third model, the all-new G70 compact sports sedan, at the recent Montreal and Toronto auto shows and it is now available for preorder online.

The 2018 Genesis G80 Sport is equipped with a 3.3-litre, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine that produces 365 horsepower and 376 lb.-ft. of torque. Interior highlights include a 17-speaker, 900-watt Lexicon surround-sound audio system, a 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system with built-in navigation, heads-up display, heated leather sport seats and a carbon-fibre interior trim. The G80 Sport also features advanced safety technology such as autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot detection and lane-departure warning. Other standard features include automatic LED headlights with high-beam assist and adaptive cornering, LED daytime running lights, taillights and turn signal indicators, and rain-sensing wipers.

• Vehicle price: $62,000 (all-inclusive)
• Freight, PDI, government fees: $128
• Cash purchase price before tax: $62,128
• Finance for 60 months at 2.4-per-cent interest for $1,227 a month including tax and requires $1,000 down payment
• Lease for 48 months at 2.9-per-cent interest for $930 a month including tax and assumes a 20,000 annual kilometre allowance and requires $1,000 down payment
• Includes complimentary scheduled maintenance and courtesy vehicle service for five years or 100,000 kilometres and complimentary navigation map updates for five years

2018 Audi A6 3.0 TFSI Quattro Progressiv Tiptronic

While being unseated from the top position by just one point, Audi still held a very respectable second place in this year's Consumer Reports ranking. The 2018 Audi A6 is powered by either a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine that produces 252 horsepower and 272 lb.-ft. of torque or a 3.0-litre, V-6 engine that delivers an additional 88 horses and 53 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Progressive trim features a freestanding infotainment system with built-in navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, an Audi sound system, a multifunction display in the instrument cluster, leather seating surfaces, a heat-insulating windshield, and LED headlights, tail lights and daytime running lights. A key safety feature of the 2018 A6 is Audi pre sense, which engages the automatic belt tensioner and triggers anticipatory protection measures for the passengers upon detecting a high probability of collision.

• MSRP: $66,850
• Manufacturer cash incentive: $6,250 (as compared with $3,000 in February)
• Estimated dealer discount: $1,500
• Freight, PDI, government fees: $2,830
• Cash purchase price before tax: $61,930
• Finance for 60 months at 1.9-per-cent interest for $1,263 a month including tax, which includes a $4,250 manufacturer incentive (as compared with $3,000 in February) and assumes zero down payment
• Lease for 48 months at 1.9-per-cent interest for $986 a month including tax, which includes a $4,250 manufacturer incentive (as compared with $3,000 in February) and assumes a 20,000 annual kilometre allowance and zero down payment

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2018 BMW 530i xDrive Sedan

BMW has been one of the world's most respected car brands for decades, so its position as Consumer Reports' third-best car brand comes as no surprise. The 2018 BMW 530i xDrive features a 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that produces 248 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. A notable feature on this luxury sedan is BMW gesture control, which allows the driver to control several infotainment functions with simple and customizable hand gestures rather than having to touch an interface at all. It also features leather seating surfaces, quad-zone climate control, BMW on-board navigation, dynamic cruise control and a high-fidelity sound system with two subwoofers. Its exterior features adaptive LED headlights alongside its iconic BMW dual-kidney grille, LED fog lights and run-flat tires.

• MSRP: $63,000
• Manufacturer cash incentive: $2,000 (as compared with $1,000 in February)
• Estimated dealer discount: $1,500
• Freight, PDI, government fees: $2,880
• Cash purchase price before tax: $62,380
• Finance for 60 months at 2.9-per-cent interest for $1,263 a month including tax, which includes a $2,000 manufacturer incentive (as compared with $1,000 in February) and assumes zero down payment
• Lease for 48 months at 3.9-per-cent interest for $940 a month including tax, which includes a $2,000 manufacturer incentive (as compared with $1,000 in February) and assumes a 20,000 annual kilometre allowance and zero down payment

Get Local Price on Globe Drive

2018 Lexus GS 350

Lexus rounded off the top four as Consumer Reports' highest-ranked Japanese brand. In addition, Lexus also topped J.D. Power's most recent Vehicle Dependability Study for the seventh consecutive year. The 2018 Lexus GS 350 outputs 311 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque through a 3.5-litre, V-6 engine. It features a 12.3-inch infotainment system with navigation and SiriusXM integration, a 12-speaker Lexus premium audio system, heated and air-conditioned front seats, push-button ignition, rain-sensing wipers and premium LED headlights with auto-levelling functionality. The 2018 GS 350 also comes standard with Lexus Safety System+ active safety technology, which includes a precollision system, automatic high beam, dynamic radar cruise control and lane-departure alert with steering assist.

• MSRP: $63,550
• Manufacturer cash incentive: $2,500 (applied after tax)
• Estimated dealer discount: $2,500
• Freight, PDI, government fees: $2,185
• Cash purchase price before tax: $61,023
• Finance for 60 months at 4.9-per-cent interest for $1,298 a month including tax, which includes a $2,500 manufacturer incentive (applied after tax) and assumes zero down payment
• Lease for 48 months at 3.9-per-cent interest for $941 a month including tax, which includes a $2,500 manufacturer incentive (applied after tax) and assumes a 20,000 annual kilometre allowance and zero down payment

Get Local Price on Globe Drive

Andrew Tai is CEO of Unhaggle. Follow on Twitter @ahytai

Manufacturer incentives and pricing calculations are based on Ontario customers and subject to availability of inventory. Dealer discounts shown are estimates for illustrative purposes only, may vary by region and are given at the discretion of individual dealers. Please note that while every effort is made to ensure the information above is accurate at the time of publication, pricing, incentives and discounts are subject to change or discontinuation at any time. Vehicle images may not represent the exact model featured in the pricing provided. Consult your local dealership for details.