AUTONEWS

Consumer Reports: the most reliable car manufacturers aren't European

There are consumers who prefer powerful cars, others who prioritize economical ones, and there are even those who favor more spacious or comfortable models, but what no driver appreciates are vehicles that insist on breaking down on the side of the road, or that need constant repairs at the workshop. Consumer Reports (CR) conducts an annual reliability study, in which it directly contacts owners to determine which brands and vehicles have fewer reliability problems, and in 2025 alone, 380,000 drivers were surveyed about the problems and difficulties created by their vehicles.

The most recent edition of the CR study once again pointed to vehicles with simpler mechanics as those that tend to exhibit higher levels of reliability, with more complex models being penalized, especially the most recent ones or those that have benefited from a greater number of improvements or updates. One way to summarize the study's conclusions is to point to the superior reliability of models with combustion engines. Among electrified vehicles, purely hybrid ones shine, registering the fewest problems. On the opposite end of the spectrum, that is, with lower reliability, are 100% electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The 2025 ranking was led by exactly the same manufacturers. Toyota took first place, with 66 points, followed by Subaru (63) and Lexus (60), while in 2024 the top three most reliable brands were Subaru (68), Lexus (65) and Toyota (62), confirming the traditional build quality of Japanese brands. The 4th position in the ranking belonged to another Japanese manufacturer, Honda (59), with the first European manufacturer appearing in 5th place, BMW with 58 points.

The top 10 also includes Nissan (57) in 6th place, Acura (Honda's luxury brand) in 7th, and Buick (51) in 8th, with Tesla (50) in 9th place. Tesla climbed the most in the CR ranking, having been only 17th in 2024 with 36 points. Kia (49) completes the top 10 most reliable brands, being the first South Korean manufacturer, beating Ford (48), Hyundai (48), Audi (44), Mazda (43), and Volvo (42), which took 15th place.

The top 20 also includes Volkswagen (42) in 16th place, followed by Chevrolet (42), Cadillac (41), Mercedes (41), and Lincoln (40). It's important to remember that this CR study takes place in the USA, which means that some of the brands represented are not sold in Europe, and the same is true for the models. But there are indeed many manufacturers that market their vehicles on both sides of the Atlantic, which justifies the interest of Europeans in this annual reliability ranking.

A brief analysis of the CR ranking allows us to conclude the aforementioned Japanese superiority in terms of reliability, placing six Japanese representatives in the top 10, but also highlighting the good performance of BMW — with the 2 Series achieving 73 points and the X3 only 42 — and Tesla, with the latter having the Model Y scoring 81 points, but being hampered by the presence of the Cybertruck with only 34. As for European manufacturers, in addition to BMW's 5th place, you have to wait until 13th position to find Audi (which was 7th in 2024, ahead of BMW), until 15th position to discover Volvo, with VW appearing in 16th and Mercedes in 19th place.

by Autonews