Think you want a Toyota Camry? Drive a Ford Fusion before you buy one — and maybe a Hyundai Sonata and a Chrysler 200, too. Toyotas are still good choices, but they aren’t the only good choices anymore. Photo source: Ford Motor Co.

How do you decide what kind of new car to buy?

Maybe you’ll ask your friends for recommendations. Maybe you’ll just buy the new version of the car or truck or SUV that you already have — the same make and model, just new and updated.

But as one who follows the global auto business as my job, I say those are both bad plans. Now more than ever, it’s important to shop around — and to maybe try a few vehicles that you might have never considered otherwise.

Here’s why.

Why the no-brainer choices aren’t no-brainers anymore

“But I have a Toyota (NYSE: TM) Camry, and it has been great,” I hear you asking. Or maybe you have another car that’s a well-known reliable choice. Why should you bother looking around?

Let’s stick with the Camry as our example for a minute. There’s nothing wrong with a Camry. Toyota continues to make fine products. If you like your current Camry, you might be satisfied with a new one.

But here’s the thing: You might like something else a lot better. If you just look at the obvious choices, you’re missing out on a lot of other good choices. And one of those other choices might be a much better fit for you.

The thing to realize is that the auto business has changed in a big way in the last several years.

Ten or 15 years ago, if you wanted a midsize sedan and you were the kind of buyer that was guided by Consumer Reports, a Camry (or maybe a Honda (NYSE: HMC) Accord) was the car to get. If you lived in a snowy area, maybe you’d look at a Subaru, too.

A lot of Americans grew up thinking that that was pretty much the entire universe of cars worth considering. And the truth is, if value, reliability, and fuel economy were your priorities, those were the main choices.

But times have changed. The auto business has become much more globalized, competition is fierce, and the standards have risen. The universe of safe, reliable, fuel-efficient vehicles on the U.S. market is a lot bigger than it used to be.
And that means that your best choice might not be the obvious one.

How to get the car that’s best for you.

Like I said, following the global auto business is my job. As you can imagine, that leads a lot of people to ask me for advice on what kind of car to buy.

Here’s what I tell them: Start by figuring out what kind of car you want.

Do you want a midsize sedan? A compact crossover SUV? A small car for commuting? A big SUV that can pull a trailer? Something else?

Figure that out, and then make up a list — yes, a list — of cars to test-drive. By all means consult Consumer Reports if that’s your thing, but keep in mind that Consumer Reports (or any other reviewer) can’t tell you what you will think of any given model.

Also keep in mind that, like I said, unsafe, unreliable, inefficient new vehicles are mostly a thing of the past. In other words, check out some of the less-obvious choices.

In particular, even if you’ve only ever owned Japanese-brand cars, don’t be afraid to check out Detroit’s offerings. Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) play on the global stage nowadays; their offerings compete with Toyota and company all over the world. Many of their products compete very, very well. (Increasingly, that’s true of Fiat Chrysler (NASDAQOTH: FIATY), too.)

Long story short: Don’t skip the test drive!

If you only take one thing away from this, take this: Don’t buy a new car without test-driving it — and don’t decide that your mind is made up before that test drive.

Consumer Reports can tell you a new car’s reliability history and fuel-economy numbers, but it can’t tell you whether the engine will sound weird to you, or whether the seats will work for your body, or whether the angle of the arm rest will make your shoulder hurt, or any of a thousand other things that might not matter to a reviewer, but might be really important to you and your family.

These details matter in a car you’re going to be driving for the next five or seven years. And with so many more good choices available nowadays, it’s important to stay open to the idea that your first choice might not end up being your best choice.

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