'Consumer Reports' picks worst cars of 2015

Consumer Reports, known for its independence when it come to auto reviews, has singled out four car models as representing the worst of the lot for 2015.

One is a familiar car, two are luxury crossovers and the last is a minivan that's also known as a SUV. They are singled out in the magazine's October issue. If nothing else, the picks show how the auto market has blended genres.

The magazine buys all the cars it tests, as opposed to virtually all other publications and websites, which borrow them from automakers. The goal is to buy the same vehicle that any consumers would get on their own at a dealership.

Here are the four at the bottom of the car barrel:

•Chrysler 200. It's now dead last among its midsize car rankings. When it was introduced, the new 200 was considered a vast improvement over the one it replaced.

But Consumer Reports disliked its "raspy" four-cylinder engine, balky transmission and "klutzy" handling. The cramped rear seat is something only a submariner could appreciate, the magazine writes.

•Land Rover Discovery Sport. The SUV has a "flat footed" engine and a transmission that's unrefined. Handling is "lumbering," and the entertainment system seems to be from another age.

•Lexus NX 200t/300h. The new compact SUV edition form the Lexus line seems too much to Consumer Reports like the Toyota RAV4, especially the "jostling" ride. Some components feel cheap, and overall it falls short of German competitors.

•Kia Sedona. This minivan was made to look like a SUV, but the ride isn't supple and there are squeaks and rattles. Steering is "vague."