Consumer Reports just did a study about car brand perceptions, so we thought we’d compare the top 10 most highly perceived brands to their list of the most reliable car brands.

The reliability information is based on data CR collected about 1.4 million vehicles. Their owners reported any serious problems with their cars and CR used the data to predict the model’s reliability.

The perceptions are based on a survey that asked people to rate car brands based on safety, quality, value, performance, environmental friendliness, design, and technological innovation. It’s perception vs repair bills. Here we go!

Brand Perception — Top 10

1. Toyota
2. Honda
3. Ford
4. Cadillac
5. Mercedes-Benz
6. GMC
7. Lexus
8. BMW
9. Chevrolet
10. Volvo

Brand Reliability — Top 10

1. Scion
2. Acura
3. Honda
4. Toyota
5. Lexus
6. Infiniti
7. Subaru
8. Hyundai
9. Mitsubishi
10. Kia

No list is perfect, of course, but it seems like Kia and Hyundai’s marketing department have some work to do in order to help consumer perception. Cadillac seems to be doing fine — it ranked 31st out of 34 brands when it came to reliability, but is still perceived quite well.

If you’re interested in more detailed information about car reliability, CR has an absurd abundance of it, including which models are the most and least reliable for each brand.

Car brand perception vs reality [CR]
Reliability findings [CR]

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