Tech & Products
Cars Tier List Maker
Rank car brands, from Toyota, Honda and Ford to BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Tesla.
Last reviewed
Unranked items
Drag items into a tier — or tap an item, then tap a tier.
Your list saves automatically in this browser. You can also drop or paste images onto the board. With a keyboard, focus an item and use the arrow keys to move it, or Delete to remove it.
Meet every car (30)
These 30 cars load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the car is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
-
Toyota
A Japanese manufacturer based in Toyota City, founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. According to Wikipedia it is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
-
Honda
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda and based in Tokyo. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, which sets it apart from most carmakers.
-
Ford
An American manufacturer based in Dearborn, Michigan, founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. It sells vehicles under the Ford brand and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand.
-
Chevrolet
A division of General Motors that sells everything from subcompact cars to medium-duty trucks in North America. Its nickname, Chevy, is sometimes used as a synonym for GM itself.
-
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke, a German maker of luxury vehicles and motorcycles based in Munich. The BMW name first came into use when Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke.
-
Mercedes-Benz
A German luxury brand founded in 1926 and based in Stuttgart. Mercedes-Benz AG, a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group created in 2019, makes luxury vehicles and light commercial vehicles.
-
Audi
A German luxury manufacturer based in Ingolstadt, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. Its origins go back to early 20th-century firms founded by engineer August Horch.
-
Porsche
A Stuttgart maker of luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, owned by Volkswagen AG. Its current lineup includes the 911, the Panamera and the Macan.
-
Ferrari
An Italian luxury sports car maker based in Maranello, founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari. It built its first car in 1940 and began producing its current line of road cars in 1947.
-
Lamborghini
An Italian maker of luxury sports cars and SUVs in Sant'Agata Bolognese, founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963 to compete with Ferrari. It is owned by the Volkswagen Group through Audi.
-
Tesla
An American electric vehicle and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas, incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. It also sells batteries and solar panels.
-
Volkswagen
A German brand based in Wolfsburg, established in 1937 by the German Labour Front and revived after World War II by British Army officer Ivan Hirst.
-
Subaru
The car division of Subaru Corporation, formerly Fuji Heavy Industries. Subaru cars are known for using a boxer engine layout in most internal combustion models, and for Symmetrical All Wheel Drive.
-
Mazda
A Japanese manufacturer in Fuchū, Hiroshima, founded on January 30, 1920, as a cork-making factory, Toyo Cork Kogyo, by Jujiro Matsuda. It started producing vehicles in 1931.
-
Nissan
A Japanese maker headquartered in Yokohama that sells vehicles under the Nissan and Infiniti brands, and formerly Datsun, with in-house performance products under the Nismo name.
-
Hyundai
A South Korean manufacturer established in 1967 that owns a major stake in Kia and the luxury brand Genesis. The three brands together form the Hyundai Motor Group.
-
Kia
South Korea's second-largest automaker, based in Seoul, after its parent Hyundai Motor Company, which is its largest shareholder. Wikipedia reports global sales of over 3.1 million vehicles in 2025.
-
Jeep
An American brand now owned by Stellantis, acquired by Chrysler from American Motors Corporation in 1987. Its range is made up of SUVs, from crossovers to off-road models, plus one pickup truck.
-
Dodge
An American brand and a division of Stellantis based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was founded as the Dodge Brothers Company machine shop and has historically included performance cars.
-
Volvo
A Swedish maker of luxury SUVs, station wagons and sedans, based in Torslanda, Gothenburg. Its marketing revolves around safety and its Swedish heritage.
-
Jaguar
A British sports and luxury car brand owned by Tata Motors through Jaguar Land Rover. The business was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars.
-
Land Rover
A brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, created in 1948 by the Rover Company for a utilitarian 4WD vehicle. Since 2008 it has been part of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors.
-
McLaren
A British luxury car maker at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, whose main products are sports cars built in-house. As of March 2025 it is wholly owned by CYVN Holdings.
-
Aston Martin
A British maker of luxury sports cars and grand tourers, whose predecessor was founded in 1913. It is associated with James Bond since he used a DB5 in the 1964 film Goldfinger.
-
Bugatti
A French maker of high-performance cars, founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, by Ettore Bugatti. Famous models include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 Royale and the Type 57 Atlantic.
-
Lexus
The luxury division of Toyota, sold in more than 90 countries and territories, and Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has been headquartered in Aichi since 2024.
-
Acura
The luxury and performance division of Honda, based primarily in North America and launched on March 27, 1986. It sells cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama.
-
Genesis
The luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Group, announced as an independent brand on 4 November 2015, with the Genesis G90 as its first model, released in 2017.
-
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors, a Japanese manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo. Its name literally means "Three Diamonds Automotive Industry Company," and it was the sixth-largest Japanese automaker in 2011.
-
Rivian
An American electric vehicle maker founded in 2009 that builds an electric SUV and pickup on a "skateboard" platform, plus an electric delivery van sold to Amazon.
Cars tier list questions
Why does this list rank brands, not single models?
A brand ranking is stable, while model lineups change every year. Brands also let you rank companies by identity, such as luxury, performance or reliability, which is what most people argue about.
Why does the list leave out sales figures and reliability rankings?
Sales and reliability rankings change every year and depend on the study, so they would go stale. The write-ups state history and identity from Wikipedia, which is stable.
How should I rank car brands?
Common criteria include design, performance, reliability, heritage, value and how much you want to own one. Many people rank in tiers by category, such as luxury, sports and everyday brands.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .