ADAC balance sheet: The best and worst cars of the year
Created: 01/01/2023 05:03
By: Marcus Efler
After 95 car models tested in 2022, the ADAC draws an overall balance.
There are one or two surprises in it - but also clear losers.
That's the thing with autotests.
How reliable are the ratings, how objective are the grades?
Emotional or subjective criteria often come into play, and rightly so - after all, buying and owning a car is always a matter of personal taste and preferences.
Truly premium: the BMW iX xDrive50.
© Uwe Fischer/BMW
ADAC balance sheet: The best and worst cars of the year
However, when it is actually a question of a value-free, cool view of the technical product car, the ADAC is the first point of contact.
This is ensured by the technical center in Landsberg am Lech, where engineers and other experts carefully examine the test vehicles (and unmask some quality defects).
In 2022, Germany's largest car club again assessed 95 new models based on criteria such as comfort, handling, ecological balance sheet and safety.
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ADAC balance sheet: Stromer in particular at the forefront
The ADAC has now taken stock of the past year.
Here are its winners and losers in 2022 - in the overall ranking across all vehicle classes and types.
The best cars of 2022 (source: ADAC)
car model | drive type | ADAC grade |
|---|---|---|
BMW iX xDrive50 | electric | 1.6 |
Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ | electric | 1.6 |
Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 | electric | 1.7 |
Škoda Enyaq Coupé RS iV | electric | 1.7 |
BMW i4 eDrive40 | electric | 1.8 |
Mercedes-Benz C 300 d Estate 9G-Tronic | diesel | 1.8 |
Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo GTS | electric | 1.8 |
Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric Single Engine | electric | 1.8 |
VW ID.5 Pro Performance | electric | 1.8 |
Audi Q4 Sportback 40 e-tron | electric | 1.9 |
Honda Civic 2.0 i-MMD Hybrid e-CVT | Hybrid | 1.9 |
Hyundai\tIONIQ 5 (72.6 kWh) 2WD | electric | 1.9 |
Kia EV6 58kWh/77.4kWh | electric | 1.9 |
Kia Niro EV (64.8kWh) | electric | 1.9 |
Mercedes-Benz EQB 350 4Matic | electric | 1.9 |
Electric cars clearly dominate the list of the best, with the Mercedes C 300 d only a diesel managed a grade with a 1 before the decimal point.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that most car manufacturers are currently bringing electric vehicles onto the market or presenting them as a new variant - and because they sometimes get top marks in the environmental rating.
Also not surprising: Expensive vehicles from German premium brands dominate the best-of list.
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ADAC balance sheet: lack of security pulls grade down
However, some Asians also drove to the front, and the club even declared the Honda Civic a “real insider tip”.
After the amazingly good safety ratings of some models from previously unknown brands, also determined by the ADAC, it is quite conceivable that they will also shake up this ranking next year.
The tail lights 2022 (Source: ADAC)
car model | drive type | ADAC grade |
|---|---|---|
Mitsubishi Space Star 1.2 | Otto | 4.1 |
Dacia Spring | electric | 4.1 |
Dacia Duster TCe 150 4WD | Otto | 4.1 |
Toyota Aygo X 1.0 | Otto | 3.1 |
Dacia Sandero TCe 100 ECO-G | LPG | 2.9 |
Citroën C3 PureTech 110 EAT6 | Otto | 2.9 |
Mazda CX-5 SKYACTIV-D 184 AWD | diesel | 2.8 |
Dacia Jogger TCe 110/TCe 100 ECO-G | Otto/LPG | 2.8 |
Subaru Forester 2.0ie Lineartronic | Otto | 2.7 |
Mini Countryman Cooper SE ALL4 Steptronic | plug-in hybrid | 2.7 |
Mazda 2 e-SKYACTIV-G 90 M Hybrid | Otto | 2.7 |
Citroën e-Spacetourer XL (75 kWh) | electric | 2.7 |
Basically positive: even at the bottom end of the list, only three car models got bad grades.
As the ADAC emphasizes, deficits in the safety equipment in particular pulled down the rating.
If a model is bad here, "its overall result is devalued," explains the club: "So it doesn't help the Duster if its engine is rated well (2.2), and it doesn't help the Spring if its low power consumption in the area of environment/Ecotest (1.2) as the Mitsubishi (2.2) is one of the good ones.
Safety comes first.”
