ADAC tests car quality: These are the winners and losers

Created: 08/08/2022, 17:00

By: Marcus Efler

The ADAC took a very close look: This test is about the material and processing quality of new cars.

There are some surprises in the top and flop 5.

Whether it's a small car or a luxury class: more and more cars are turning into rolling computers that brake automatically whenever they are online or when confronted with obstacles.

"But the concentrated technology has a catch: It is expensive," says the ADAC, "so the manufacturers have to save elsewhere - and that is often the material and processing quality".

The car club's test engineers examined 580 different vehicle models and ranked the best and worst cars in four different classes.

ADAC tests car quality: These are the winners and losers

Small and micro cars

Sheet metal instead of fabric in the interior, cheap-looking headliner: ADAC engineers have noticed the cost pressure in very cheap small cars like the Toyota Aygo.

Significantly more expensive models such as the BMW i3 and Honda e Stromern, they attested a clearly higher quality impression.

A closer look: Evaluation of the processing quality in the ADAC technical center in Landsberg am Lech.

© ADAC

Lower middle class

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In these popular segments, the ADAC found that those models that were developed for the "less demanding US market" were particularly weak.

The winners were once again the cars of European premium brands (and Mazda), which, however, again cost significantly more here.

Winner in the "lower middle class": The Volvo XC40 (here as the electric Recharge version).

©Volvo

ADAC tests car quality: Audi top, Tesla flop

middle class

Similar brands as before dominate the top 5 ranking in the middle class - although one can certainly criticize that the ADAC also classifies luxury cars like the Porsche Macan here.

Reliable manufacturers such as Honda or Toyota stand out among the losers.

The well-known fluctuating processing quality is fatal to the Tesla Model 3.

The testers were also disappointed by the Mercedes C-Class, whose material quality (grade 2.8) was lower than that of its predecessor (1.25) and which did not make it into the top 5.

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upper class

The ADAC engineers noted that a high price is not necessarily a guarantee of high quality using the example of the VW bus (type T6.1), which “cannot hide” its character as a commercial vehicle.

Toyota also performs surprisingly badly again.

Mercedes, on the other hand, shines here again on an equal footing with Porsche and BMW, and also conquered the remaining places in the top 5 classic premium brands.

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