Consumer Reports magazine has rated the Toyota Prius Touring edition as the best value among more than 300 vehicles it tested, the non-profit organization reported Friday.

The value ranking, assessing bang for the buck, is based on road-test scores, five-year owner-cost estimates and predicted reliability ratings.

Budget-priced vehicles like the Smart ForTwo, Chevrolet Aveo5 and Toyota Yaris sedan didn't make the value list because of low marks in other areas, the magazine said in a news release.

After the Prius, the vehicles with the best values are the Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Rabbit, Honda Civic EX and Honda Fit.

The best value category is a new addition to its annual auto report.

As in past years, Japanese companies dominated the list of best models in different categories, such as family sedans, pickups and SUVs, in terms of overall quality based on road tests, reliability and safety.

"The best vehicles are built by Honda, Subaru, and Toyota. They make well-rounded cars that excel across the board, getting very good scores in our road tests and high marks in reliability from subscribers in our annual auto survey," the magazine said.

Japanese vehicles came first in nine of the 10 categories. The Chevrolet Avalanche full-sized crew cab was first in the pickup group.

But not all Japanese nameplates did well. "The Honda Element, Mitsubishi Eclipse and Toyota Yaris all score too low in our tests for us to recommend," the magazine said.

North American manufacturers fared poorly across the board, accounting for just 19 per cent of the magazine's recommended vehicles. "The domestics don't have any competitive small SUVs or small cars," it said.

New models from General Motors are among the best in the tests, and some Fords now rival Honda and Toyota. But "Chrysler is at the bottom of the class," with no models on the recommended list.

Several European cars from Mercedes and Volkswagen are leaders in performance, comfort and safety. They have not done so well in terms of reliability, although that has begun to change, Consumer Reports said.

It ranked the Lexus LS 460L first among all vehicles tested, with a rating of 99 out of 100, and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara last, with 17 out of 100.

The scores are based on more than 50 tests, the magazine said.

Detailed reports are available in the magazine's April edition, on sale Tuesday.