A dark gray 2026 Toyota 4Runner.To close out each year, the team at Consumer Reports reflects on the dozens of cars that cycle through its 327-acre Auto Test Center. Most are competent. Some are genuinely excellent. And a few are forgettable. But then there are the ones that irritate professional testers before they even leave the parking lot.In the final 2025 episode of "Talking Cars," CR staffers — not just the on-camera regulars, but the engineers, fleet managers, and behind-the-scenes — were asked a simple question: What was your least favorite car this year? This unique dive into the perspectives from several internal staffers gives listeners or viewers some interesting takes.The result wasn't one single villain, but rather, a few vehicles stood out for very different reasons. From the frustrating Tesla Cybertruck, to a pair of Volvo EVs that are painfully counterintuitive and even the new 4Runner falling short as a successor, these vehicles weren't safe in this year's Consumer Reports annual recap. Tesla CybertruckA silver Tesla Cybertruck driving through the desert.The Cybertruck may dominate headlines and needlessly draw attention, but within CR's gates, it wasn't exactly fought over for weekend duty. John Ibbitson, manager of auto testing for Consumer Reports, didn't hedge his reaction, saying, "I can't get used to the steering wheel. I can't get used to parking the vehicle. I'm irritated before I leave the parking lot". These aren't the usual discourse about the Cybertruck's looks, this is about the rudimentary act of maneuvering the vehicle in tight spaces. Jennifer Stockburger — host of "Talking Cars," and director of operations at the Auto Test Center — additionally pointed to awkward steering ratios and low-speed behavior that felt unnatural and clumsy. For something marketed as the future of trucks, it left seasoned drivers feeling like they had to relearn how to park. As a result, the Cybertruck didn't circulate through the fleet as often as you might expect for something so high-profile. That's usually a quiet sign of how a vehicle is perceived internally. When people hesitate to grab the keys, it tells you something. When daily usability becomes frustrating before you merge onto a road, even the hype machine can't save it. Toyota 4RunnerA white 2026 Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport.Few vehicles carried more anticipation into 2025 than the redesigned Toyota 4Runner. Replacing the outgoing generation — which had been on sale since 2010 — was guaranteed to be no easy task. A new version of the 4Runner was supposed to modernize the formula without losing its identity, but instead it became one of the year's biggest disappointments for the CR staff, namely Michael Monticello, manager of road tests and reviews. Monticello described the new 4Runner as his least favorite car of 2025, though it was more disappointing than outright terrible. The loud 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-4, paired with vibrations through the steering wheel, a transmission that shifted with noticeable bumpiness and a bouncy ride were just a few of the gripes Monticello noted. Michael Quincy, a CR auto content specialist, later piled on, saying, "The noise levels, the ride, the handling, the wheezy engine, the terrible engine ... it just kills it for me."What stung most was that the new 4Runner scored the same road test score as the outgoing generation — a sign of stagnation rather than evolution. Volvo EX30A light blue 2023 Volvo EX30.Volvo's latest compact EV SUV offering — the EX30 — triggered the strongest collective backlash. In an internal digital log book, Consumer Reports testers answer if they would recommend this vehicle to friends or family. According to Quincy, "Not one tester said they'd recommend this car." He quoted staffers as saying, "The vehicle is a usability nightmare" and "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." The culprits? Poor value, impractical cabin controls and a driver monitor system so bad that it made Quincy yell at the car in response to a warning to keep his eyes on the road, "I would keep my eyes on the road if your controls were better designed!"The complaints weren't about acceleration. In fact, Quincy called it "an absolute rocket ship". Rather, overcomplication due to tech reliance for simple tasks derailed what could've been a promising EV competitor from the revered Swedish automaker. The near unanimous aversion of the EX30 among Consumer Reports' testers is the closest we saw to outright hate in their 2025 recap. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.
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