Audi, Porsche are tops in Consumer Reports' annual rankings

Audi, Porsche and BMW are the best-performing brands in Consumer Reports' annual rankings, but lower-priced options aren't far behind.

Subaru, Kia, Mazda and Honda also made it into the organization's top ten brands for 2017. The brand rankings combine scores from Consumer Reports' road tests as well as reliability and satisfaction ratings that are based on owner surveys.

Tesla was the highest-ranking U.S.-based brand, at number eight. The worst performers were Fiat, Jeep and Mitsubishi.

Consumer Reports also ranked individual models. The Subaru Forester was the top small SUV and the Kia Optima was the highest-ranking midsize car.

Consumer Reports is a New York-based nonprofit that buys all the vehicles it tests. Its rankings are closely watched by the industry, since many buyers make decisions based on its picks.