Lexus shines, Lincoln and Tesla falter in Consumer Reports Reliability Data list
Buick is the only domestic brand to crack the top 10 most reliable brands. Otherwise, foreign automakers prevail.
Another year, another round of reliability data from Consumer Reports. The organization released its annual Reliability Data list on Thursday and it highlights the most and least reliable car brands based on 300,000 vehicle surveys. This year, it's wonderful news for Lexus , Mazda and Toyota . It's not so great news for Lincoln , Tesla and Ram.
Lexus took the top spot this year with an average reliability score of 76 out of 100 possible points. Mazda was just one point off the top spot with 75 points and Toyota placed third with 71 points. Eight of the ten brands in the top ten are Asian brands, in fact. Buick is the lone domestic brand in the top ten in fifth place and Mini showed up for European brands in tenth. The majority of General Motors brands and Ford landed in the middle of the pack and showed improvement at that. The same can't be said for Jeep and Ram. Both lost places this year, down 12 and 5 spots respectively. The GMC brand was also an outlier for GM, though, losing five spots.
Way at the bottom is Tesla and Lincoln. In Tesla's latest CR Reliability List outing, it placed 27th, unchanged from last year, with an average score of 27 points. Lincoln had an even worse time after CR pored over the data and landed in last place with an average score of 18 points.
There were a few other interesting takeaways from the survey, and that includes a stellar showing for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Despite very complex powertrains, hybrids and plug-in hybrids were part of the most reliable group of vehicles. On the flip side, electric SUVs were some of the least reliable vehicles surveyed. CR noted that's not because of their electric powertrains, which are far simpler than an engine, but because of complex electronics in the cabin. Apparently, owners aren't having a great time with some of this gear.
And despite GM, Ford and Stellantis' overall average showing in the brand rankings, domestic cars swept awards for most reliable vehicles in each segment. The winners include the Buick Envision for luxury compact SUV, Chevy Trailblazer in the subcompact SUV, Silverado and GMC Sierra for full-size pickups and Chrysler 300 for midsize and large cars.
