I’m perennially baffled by CR’s ratings. They are a lagging indicator at best, and skewed/biased at worst. Does anyone actually use this information any more?
Who makes the most reliable new cars?
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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#22Mini is hot garbage on wheels comparable to VW. I am really surprised to see this.
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#23Hard to answer the question because "reliable" means different things to different people. Infotainment system keeps dropping Bluetooth connections? "Unreliable." Engine seizes at 70 MPH? "Unreliable." Car only has minor mechanical problems, but dealers can't get parts for months? "Unreliable." A car is too complex a thing to be characterized with a single scalar value.
I prefer the opinions of mechanics. There was a reddit thread this year where someone asked "what brand would you tell everyone to avoid", and it was a pretty unanimous "Toyota wins." Hopefully they'll quit making infotainment systems. I like my phone->FM adapter. Edit: I worded my comment poorly. The mechanics all love Toyota. Everything else was on many guys' shit-lists.
I have a feeling you’re misremembering the details. Toyota’s have a reputation for being some of the most reliable cars.
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#24Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#25Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#26Lexus is toyota. Accura is honda. So it’s really like: 1. Toyota 2. Mini 3. Honda 4. Subaru 5. Mazda Congratulations Japan.
Mini is BMW
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#27Very weird how EVs and ICEs are intermixed. I would expect vastly different results across different drivetrains, and probably even more differences across shape/size platforms (compact, sedan, truck, van, etc.).
I agree with you in principle but I think if you're Consumer Reports and you know much of your audience is very nontechnical (ie, will only have a very surface-level understanding of electric vs hybrid vs ICE) it makes some sense to attempt to distill an entire brand down to a single datapoint.
Many readers aren't savvy and just want to know what dealership to show up at to start asking what they can afford. If brand XYZ has amazing ICE reliability but their EVs are trash, you suddenly need to be a more informed consumer when you get to that dealership. Easier to just rank the companies with a long history of reliability across multiple product segments higher.
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#28From my years at a major car supplier I know that Toyota was never interested in our latest developments, even if we offered them at a cheaper prize. They only purchased components that had been in use for other cars.
I own a Toyota Avensis. It is the most boring car in the world, but I never ever had any issues with it. Mine is the second facelift, built in 2015, based on a chassis that had been in production since 2009. So any early problems have been resolved long time ago.
Maybe this explains a bit why Toyota is on top in the reliability ranking. They are very reasonable cars. Would I buy one if I had more money? Hell, no!
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#29[deleted]
Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?
#30I don't see how 'Tesla' is not top of the list here. For the 'Trouble Areas' I suspected they're normalizing over the 'length of ownership' which would bias the scores towards older car companies.
Often times "Reliability" is calculated as "fraction of cars that have a recall or other unscheduled maintenance during the initial N months of ownership" and I believe Tesla is actually quite high in this regard? https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehi...
My Tesla has been much less costly to own over the last three years than my Honda Odyssey: I have had several mobile repair visits for cosmetic issues and some OTA “recalls” but I find it hard to believe that any ICE car is more “reliable” than a Model 3 that didn’t gave obvious QC issues at delivery.