Blog: ShopSmart Picks Best Brands
By Jim Donovan: Each year, the experts at ShopSmart, from Consumer Reports, test thousands of products to help shoppers navigate the crowded marketplace and decide where to spend their dollars. ShopSmart's April 2015 issue highlights some of the appliances, electronics, and cars from brands that performed well in tests and received high scores in owner-reliability surveys within the past three years.
"Don't buy another appliance, car, computer, or TV without checking out our list," said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart. "We found big differences among the dozens of brands we analyzed."
ShopSmart's cover feature "The Best Brands" also names specific models and why shoppers should consider them. Below are some of the manufacturers called out for their performance in lab and road tests and noted for their reliability; the full report also highlights the best in washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges, and laptops:
• TVs. LG, Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung all make great TVs, with Samsung leading the pack in lab tests and LG coming close behind. TVs have become very reliable over the years, and no brand stands out as being more reliable than others.
• VACUUMS. Kenmore is king because of its high combined scores for performance and reliability. The brand's upright and canister vacs excel at cleaning bare floors and do a very good job on carpets. And many models are reasonably priced.
• CARS. Mazda was named best family/economy brand because their cars are super-reliable, stylish, fuel-efficient, and fun to drive. Other top brands in this category include Toyota, Subaru, Buick, Honda, and Kia.
For more of the best brands, and those to avoid, in appliances, electronics, and cars, including smart pick models, pick up the April 2015 issue of ShopSmart, on newsstands now.
For more information visit: http://www.shopsmart.org/