RICHMOND, Va. -

In a trend that was found to be rather consistent across different generations, used-car shoppers visiting CarMax stores have been particularly drawn to the Nissan Altima.

According to the inaugural CarMax Used Car Shopping Report, the Altima is test-driven more often than any other vehicle at the company’s stores and is also the top-selling vehicle.

Generationally, it was the best-seller for both Milllennials (shoppers from ages 18 to 33) and Generation X consumers (ages 34 to 49), and ranked second among Baby Boomers (ages 50 to 68).

The  report, which is based on total number of vehicle sales and test drives at CarMax locations from March 2013 through February (its most recently completed fiscal year), includes a break-out of top-selling used vehicles, top test-driven vehicles as well as best-sellers by segment and generation — all of which can be found below.

Overall Results

There was relative consistency at the top of the lists for most commonly sold used vehicles and the models most often taken for spins. In addition to the Altima taking both No. 1 spots, the Camry and Accord ranked in the top four for both.

Interestingly enough, though, not all cars that were commonly taken for test drives fared the same in the sales department. CarMax said that “used luxury and fun vehicles (convertibles or sports cars), ranked much higher in total number of test drives compared to the number of vehicles actually being sold. Last year, this was true for the BMW 328, the Infiniti G37 and the MINI Cooper.”

CarMax added in its analysis: “Among larger vehicles, the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 both ranked in the top 10 in terms of test-driven models, but only in the top 20 or lower in actual purchases.”

Top Vehicles Sold Overall
1.    Nissan Altima
2.    Toyota Camry
3.    Chevrolet Malibu
4.    Honda Accord
5.    Honda Civic
6.    Ford F150
7.    Hyundai Sonata
8.    Ford Escape
9.    Toyota Corolla
10.  Chevrolet Impala

Most Test-Driven Vehicles
1.    Nissan Altima
2.    Honda Accord
3.    Toyota Camry
4.    Ford Escape
5.    Honda Civic
6.    Ford Edge
7.    Hyundai Sonata
8.    Honda CR-V
9.    Chevrolet Malibu
10.  Toyota RAV4

Segment Results

Top Vehicles Sold – Pickup Trucks
1.    Ford F150
2.    Dodge Ram 1500
3.    Chevrolet Silverado 1500
4.    Toyota Tacoma
5.    Toyota Tundra
6.    GMC Sierra 1500
7.    Ford Ranger
8.    Nissan Frontier
9.    Nissan Titan
10.    Ford F250

Top Vehicles Sold – SUVs
1.    Ford Escape
2.    Ford Edge
3.    Nissan Rogue
4.    Toyota RAV4
5.    Honda CR-V
6.    Jeep Liberty
7.    Jeep Wrangler
8.    Chevrolet Equinox
9.    Nissan Murano
10.   Honda Pilot

Top Vehicles Sold – Sedans & Coupes
1.    Nissan Altima
2.    Toyota Camry
3.    Chevrolet Malibu
4.    Honda Accord
5.    Honda Civic
6.    Hyundai Sonata
7.    Toyota Corolla
8.    Chevrolet Impala
9.    Ford Fusion
10.  Ford Focus

Results by Generation

Aside from the Altima being popular across the board, there were other similarities between generations — as well as differences — that CarMax pointed out.

“Overall, the 2014 CarMax Used Car Shopping Report does not show a clear trend in moving to or away from domestic makes. From fiscal years 2013 to 2014, the ratio of domestic to foreign top-ranked sold cars remained about the same,” the company said.

“The Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord revealed themselves to be “everyman” vehicles, transcending all generations,” CarMax added. “Both models ranked in the top five for sales in every age group last year.”

The analysis also points out that Baby Boomers were particularly drawn to import automakers (eight of their top 10 were imports) and that Ford generated a good bit of traction among Millennials and Gen X shoppers.

“The Hyundai Sonata also showed gains among younger consumers. The Sonata saw a double-digit increase in the sales rankings for Millennials and Generation X from fiscal years 2013 to 2014. It also broke into the top 10 for overall used car purchases,” CarMax added.

Top Vehicles Sold – Baby Boomers
1.    Toyota Camry
2.    Nissan Altima
3.    Ford Escape
4.    Ford F150
5.    Honda Accord
6.    Toyota RAV4
7.    Honda CR-V
8.    Toyota Corolla
9.    Honda Civic
10.  Hyundai Sonata

Top Vehicles Sold – Generation X
1.    Nissan Altima
2.    Honda Accord
3.    Toyota Camry
4.    Ford F150
5.    Chevrolet Malibu
6.    Hyundai Sonata
7.    Chrysler Town and Country
8.    Ford Edge
9.    Honda Civic
10.   Honda Odyssey

Top Vehicles Sold – Millennials
1.    Nissan Altima
2.    Chevrolet Malibu
3.    Honda Accord
4.    Toyota Camry
5.    Honda Civic
6.    Hyundai Sonata
7.    Chevrolet Impala
8.    Ford Fusion
9.    Ford Mustang
10.   Ford F150

In other news from CarMax, the company is heavily featured in Auto Remarketing's June 15 magazine, which is our “Top 100 Used Car Dealers edition on independent dealers. Stay tuned for the print and digital editions of that publication.