Famous Japanese car brands like Honda and its luxury division, Acura, are widely and consistently regarded as reliability champions. The results of a reliability survey conducted by Consumer Reports (CR) reveal that these brands continue to remain on top. In its 2025 study, Consumer Reports compared 22 of the most reliable automakers and gave Acura the fifth spot overall. Acura ranked higher than fellow Japanese manufacturer Mazda and came out ahead of Audi, BMW, Kia, and Hyundai, too.
What will perhaps surprise you the most is that the survey named Subaru the most reliable car brand of 2025, ahead of juggernauts like Lexus, Toyota, and Honda, which took positions two through four. The two highest performing Acura models in this year's survey are the 2025 Acura MDX and RDX. The RDX comes with slightly higher reliability ratings, though both vehicles have solid scores overall.
However, in J.D Power's reliability study, the Acura MDX comes out on top. J.D. Power gives the 2025 MDX a reliability score of 83, while the RDX gets an 81. That's not to say the RDX is flawed, though, as both vehicles land in J.D. Power's Great category, which signifies above-average reliability.
While buying a used vehicle can save you money and ease your concerns about new car depreciation, there is still the risk of ending up with a vehicle that saddles you with massive repair bills. If you want to reduce your chances of buying a clunker, you will need to do some research and think carefully about which badges you should consider. As we've learned, that may lead you to Acura. According to a separate Consumer Reports survey, which analyzed over 150,000 vehicles, Acura is among the most reliable used car brands you can buy.
Apart from Subaru, which dropped down to ninth place in the used-car ranking, it's the same contenders at the top once again. Lexus and Toyota take the first and second spots, respectively, with third place going to Mazda. Honda ranks as the fourth best used car brand, while Acura lands in fifth place. Besides CR, numerous other industry experts give Acura high marks for reliability. RepairPal gives Acura an impressive 4.0 out of 5.0 when it comes to reliability, placing it second overall out of 32 brands analyzed by the company.
RepairPal data also shows that, on average, Acura vehicles only need to visit the repair shop about once a year. Furthermore, there's roughly only an 8% chance that an Acura car will need substantial repairs during a period of one year. That said, it's crucial to research any used vehicle you're considering to understand its history and potential issues before you go ahead and pay for it.
