Best car brands of 2016 according to Harris Poll

What are the best car brands in 2016? The Harris Poll 2016 EquiTrend Study has just been released following a survey of more than 97,000 U.S. consumers.

"Overall, automotive brand equity is relatively low, falling behind the media, retail, travel and restaurant industries," said Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at Nielsen, which owns the Harris Poll. "Within the auto category, however, some brands, like Lexus, are delivering exceptional customer experiences with a reputation for dependability, while parent brand Toyota, maintains it focus on dependability at a fair price. Thus, Toyota brands, while always high performing, this year are set somewhat apart from the rest."

Here are the rankings:

Best luxury car brands of 2016

1. Lexus
2. Porsche
3. Acura
4. Mercedes-Benz
5. BMW
6. Tesla
7. Cadillac

Best volume car brands of 2016

1. Toyota
2. Honda
3. Ford
4. GMC
5. Chevrolet 
6. Nissan
7. Subaru

The Harris Poll 2016 EquiTrend Study also reveals that younger consumers show a greater connection, or emotional bond, with luxury car brands as well as electric cars like the Tesla Model S and Chevy Volt.