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| Consumer Reports is a non-profit agency that conducts research on a variety of products individuals use day-to-day, including cars. |
Every
year, Consumer Reports (CR) publishes results from its annual quality survey,
ranking car brands from most to least reliable. This year wasn’t very kind to
American brands, as none finished in the top of the survey. Here’s a brief
rundown how things stacked up.
Brand
Breakdown
Toyota
and Lexus remain at the top of the reliability list, although the Tacoma had
some issues, as did the redesigned Camry with its transmission. These brands
stay so high on reliability likely because they don’t radically change their
cars very often, generally recycling engines and transmissions for years in
products. Most of Subaru’s models have good reliability, except for the WRX,
which is below average.
Honda’s
reliability has been shaken some by its newly redesigned models. The Odyssey is
rated much worse than average by CR due to door locking and infotainment
issues, and the CR-V and Accord have average reliability due to infotainment
issues as well.
Hyundai,
Kia and Genesis had different results for each brand, even among similar
models. For example, the Niro is slightly more reliable than the Ioniq and the
Sportage more reliable than the Tucson, due to Tucson’s dual-clutch
transmission (DCT) issues. That dual-clutch is gone on the refreshed 2019
Tucson. The Genesis G80 has better than average reliability, but the G90 is
below average. The Kia Cadenza fell sharply in CR reliability ratings this year
due to climate control issues.
Among
American brands, Ford was the most reliable, with the soon-to-be-dead Taurus
having much better than average reliability. The Fusion is now rated below
average due to Sync 3 freezing. Buick was the last American brand previously
rated highly for reliability, but this changed with the release of the new
Enclave. It’s been plagued with transmission issues. Dodge has the best
reliability of all of FCA’s brands, with Jeep achieving mixed results.
Tesla’s
Model S is now rated below average due to suspension issues, the Model 3 is
rated average for reliability, and the Model X much worse than average,
with its futuristic falcon-wing doors being a real sour spot.
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| Toyota and Lexus continue to dominate reliability ratings, likely due to the sharing and longevity of platforms and technology. Whether you think they make "boring cars" or not, its proving to be a winning strategy. |
Some
vehicles that made the CR 10 most reliable list include the full Toyota Prius
lineup, Toyota Corolla, Honda Fit, Kia Sedona, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Toyota
Highlander. Vehicles on the CR 10 least reliable new cars list include the
Volkswagen Atlas, Honda Odyssey, Kia Cadenza, Buick Enclave, Cadillac ATS, and
Chevrolet Traverse.
Have
you considered any of these vehicles or owned one at some point? Arm yourself
with this knowledge and shop wisely! ROLL ON!
For further reading:
- https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars/
- https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/car-reliability-issues-models-lose-cr-recommendation-car-reliability-survey/
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