by Chris Chilton
- Lexus, Subaru, and Toyota top Consumer Reports’ latest reliability rankings.
- Tesla climbs sharply, while Mazda tumbles thanks to trouble with new SUVs.
- Hybrids keep impressing, but EVs and PHEVs still cause trouble for owners.
If you want a new car that spends more time on your driveway than at the dealer, Consumer Reports has some familiar advice. Stick with the usual suspects, be suspicious of shiny new tech, and maybe don’t volunteer to beta test an automaker’s latest big idea.
At the top of the pile, Toyota grabbed first place with Subaru second and Lexus third. Honda and BMW rounded out the top five. Consumer Reports based the study on survey data covering about 380,000 vehicles, so this is the kind of league table that has credibility, and isn’t just the result of an angry guy yelling into a forum thread about his rogue SUV.
Related: A CX-90 Owner Returned His New SUV After One Day, Bought Another, And Got The Same Problem
If you’re wondering who had the best transformation, that would be Tesla. It jumped eight places from last year’s study to ninth overall, helped largely by stronger showings from the Model 3 and, in particular, the Model Y. That doesn’t mean everything in Tesla land is suddenly flawless, because the Cybertruck still landed below average, but it does suggest the company is finally getting a better grip on some of the fit, finish, and hardware gremlins that used to follow it around.
Mazda’s PHEV Nightmare
The brand that took the awkward tumble was Mazda, which dropped eight spots to 14th. Older Mazda models still did reasonably well, but the newer, more complicated CX-70 and CX-90, especially in plug-in hybrid form, apparently kept causing trouble.
That’s a classic case of what happens when an automaker gets ambitious with new platforms, new drivetrains, and new tech all at once. Sometimes the engineering team nails it. Sometimes the owners become unwitting, unpaid members of the R&D squad.
Consumer Reports also says hybrids continue to be a safe option for ICE fans looking for better economy. EVs and PHEVs, meanwhile, remain overrepresented among the least reliable models in the survey, especially when they’re brand new or heavily redesigned.
Buick Leads Detroit Brands
There were a few other eyebrow raisers in the rankings. Buick was the highest placed traditional Big Three Detroit brand at eighth, Ford landed 11th, and relative newcomer Rivian brought up the rear, though it’s worth pointing out that Jaguar, Land Rover, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and more were excluded from the study due to a lack of data.
Consumer Reports also found Asian brands still dominate on reliability, Europeans sit in the middle, and domestic brands trail overall, even if Tesla’s jump gave Team America something to celebrate.
And reliability is worth celebrating. No, it’s never going to be sexy, but unless your idea of excitement includes hanging around in waiting rooms and constantly swapping into loaner crossovers, Consumer Reports has a pretty clear message: maybe let somebody else test the cutting edge first.
Consumer Reports Reliability Study
Position Brand Score 1 Toyota 66 2 Subaru 63 3 Lexus 60 4 Honda 59 5 BMW 58 6 Nissan 57 7 Acura 54 8 Buick 51 9 Tesla 50 10 Kia 49 11 Ford 48 12 Hyundai 48 13 Audi 44 14 Mazda 43 15 Volvo 42 16 Volkswagen 42 17 Chevrolet 42 18 Cadillac 41 19 Mercedes-Benz 41 20 Lincoln 40 21 Genesis 33 22 Chrysler 31 23 GMC 31 24 Jeep 28 25 Ram 26 26 Rivian 24
Consumer Reports
Context:
Mazda's new CX-70 and CX-90 SUVs, especially plug-in hybrids, caused the brand to drop 8 spots to 14th place.
Context:
New tech often means reliability issues as owners become unpaid testers for automakers' ambitious engineering.
Context:
Toyota, Subaru, and Lexus maintained their reliability dominance while Tesla jumped 8 spots to 9th place overall.