The entire list of reliable cars is Asian. I didn't expect that.

I figured at least one American company would be on there and a couple European companies.

Interesting - so the perception people have that toyota and honda have the best reliability is correct - the top 5 is the "actual" table are all toyota or honda brands (scion and lexus=toyota, acura=honda).

@ngoandy: the whole list is VERY suspect to me. There is no way half those asian cars are more reliable than some of the American brands. My wifes 2 year old Honda FIT has been recalled twice already while I have NEVER had to bring any of my GM vehicles in for a recall in 12 years.

I'm surprized that Subaru is only in 7th place. My ten-year-old Impreza is the most reliable car I've ever owned.

I think it should be noted that the data at your links is available only to CR subscribers, though.

I thought people thought Ford cars weren't reliable: Fixed Or Repaired Daily.

Oh well. I don't know cars...

I wonder if all the bailout money will entice the American manufacturers to make their cars more reliable?

Nah. They'll just take the money and run.

@JustThatGuy3: I was gonna say much the same thing - looks like people's perceptions that Honda and Toyota lead the pack aren't exactly wrong.

I am biased, of course - I love my Civic, and secretly desire an S2000.

Toyota and Honda take the top 5 slots while Dodge + Chrysler are down at the bottom.

Too bad they only list high volume manufacturers, but they probably don't want to rate low volume ones due to insufficient data.

Best perceived brands or best perceived RELIABILITY?

List 1 is questionable. It looks more like a list of "best reputation," which is far more than just reliability. Some of the crappiest appliances in my home have never broken.

I wouldn't buy another European car again unless it had a factory or CPO warranty on it. I got my money's worth on my BMW's CPO.

It was still a pain in the ass when the fan clutch seized on Xmas Eve 250 miles from home, though. And when the drive shaft failed on Thanksgiving a few years later...350 miles from home. And when the radiator split..luckily just before taking a long trip.

As soon as the CPO was up, I sold it and bought a Toyota.

@Jim Topoleski: True, but what about TCO? Major repairs? That's what reliability is to me. A recall, in my opinion, is a good thing, because it means I get a dealer repair for free.

Besides, my mom's Camery lasted her 12 years, and her Prius has had no problems. Meanwhile, my PT Cruiser is slowly killing itself in every way possible.

@Rectilinear Propagation: I thought it stood for Fix It Again Tony.

@Rectilinear Propagation: That's actually how my mom talked me out of looking into a Volvo that was being sold used in town...

@Ash78: Likely as you don't use them as much as the good ones. Most people need to drive to work every day, and drive to get groceries. Reliability is major, and pretty much key to a car's utility.

@Ash78: I made a supposition out of my lack of reading comprehension!

List 1 includes many factors.

So the disparity between 1 and 2 just means that most buyers value more than just reliability. Which warms the cockles of my heart.

Unfortunately, many of CR ratings and reviews are about as reliable as a Kia. They often do NOT translate into real world experience. They use very skewered results, and their testing methods also are often do NOT produce accurate real life results

@PorkchopSandwiches!_GitEmSteveDave: Nah, that's actually FIAT.

GMC does stand for Garage Mechanic's Companion.

I've been driving Hyundai's for years and had virtually no problems. Other than people making fun of me for driving a Hyundai.

You must give Ford & GM's PR department credit for at least fooling people into thinking their cars are more reliable than they really are. If you think American cars are reliable because yours has worked for years without needing repairs, I like to remember that even a broken watch is correct twice a day. Which is my warped way of saying sometimes you beat the odds.

@Rectilinear Propagation:

Or "Found On Road, Dead"

@2wheelsor4: More Boxer Twin Deliciousness!: I think these guys were enacting a King Of The Hill scene...
Anyway, seriously? Ford in the top 5 perceived reliable brands? How did that happen?

The problem is that these figures are based on those who Subscribe (and thus pay) to CR and then bother to report back. So they are not 100% accurate. Add to it that people who buy expensive luxury cars like BMW and Mercedes tend to be more nitpicky over small items than perhaps others drivers. I've been around enough of them to know they are more critical if things don't go 100% as they want.

Isn't this the exact opposite of what the big 3 are crying?

I know Ford is claiming they have equal or better quality than the Japanese but their perceived quality is not as good.

Guess they're wrong.

@aftercancer:
Hyundai's reputation has significantly increased within the last ten years. I used to laugh at them. Now I laugh at Kia's. I guess I have to stop that now too.

I'll just laugh at the overpriced Mercedes and BMW's instead.

@Jim Topoleski: If you never brought your GM in for a recall in 12 years then you are either not getting the notices or ignoring them... I don't think there is a single vehicle made by GM that doesn't have at least 1 recall.

Hyundai seems to be growing on a combination of word of mouth and irresistible pricing and warranty. I see more and more of them on the road and in parking lots.

We both have Santa Fes (my husband is on his second one) and love them.

@aftercancer:
We love our Hyundais! You're right -- in the beginning they were a joke. No more.

@Jim Topoleski: At least recalls are free. If you got yours two years ago, then it was the first ever Fit (we got one too)I'd expect some growing pains while they figure out where everything goes with real life use. Aside from those recalls we haven't had a single problem with the car and it's worked great.

No Mitsubishi love? Or BMW on the 'real' list, for that matter?

@whitecat:
We used to be Subaru diehards, but then we got two lemons in a row. Things just went wrong; they never felt well balanced and drove "rough"; etc etc. Now we're Hyundai diehards. :)

Heh, I knew it. All evidence points to Domestic cars being crap, and they are. People buy them because they are cheap, then when they break down in 2 years, they sell them and take a huge loss because it depreciated 50%. I've been saying the same thing for years, and all people can say is Domestics are "better than they were". So what? If I can pay 10% more for something that will be worth 80% more down the road, and keep me from having to run to the dealership for repairs...I will.

@LJKelley: also add that CR rates a engine failure and a broken cupholder as the SAME thing. I can deal with a broken cupholder but if my Honda has a broken engine then well thats a issue.

Kia sucks. I mean, seriously, who designs a car with self-destructing wipers?

My Corolla in the winter: Wipers get stuck. Summer WWF in winter got frozen. I fixed the former with the car's heating because I'm too lazy to pull them and I know this car is built like a tank. I fixed the latter by getting out and massaging the lines enough to get the fluid going again and, of course, putting the right winter stuff in.

The Kia? Every single time the wipers get stuck it bends the connecting rods and requires repair. And today the WWF pump blew out AGAIN. And this car hasn't ever seen any fluid other than the winter stuff.

Look, if you want a car to be reliable, consider external factors. Check if the car can self-destruct. If the car can destroy itself just because someone forgets the wipers are stuck to the windshield, your car has a major design issue. I wouldn't be surprised if this extends to other things. I bet the engine explodes if the tailpipe is blocked. :-)

(And there's so many other issues I could list about the Kia it's not even funny. That 5 year warranty got just about every electrical component in the car replaced, and now it's over I'm not looking forward to how many other things will go wrong. *sigh*.)

P.S. I used to drive a little Mitsubishi hatchback -- sold under the Dodge Colt brand. Probably the best car I ever owned -- reliable, good in snow, engine hummed like a top. Ran that one into the ground in the high 100s mileage. The body actually started deteriorating (the winter salt around here is murder on metal) before the engine. Since then I've highly recommended Mitsubishis to anyone who will listen.

@LJKelley: As the explanation makes clear, they're not drawn from CR subscribers; they're drawn from a random selection of car owners polled via telephone.

@smythe: Bull. My cobalt sedan never had a recall on it, nor has my current Aura. And while the Aura is a second year model the Cobalt I had was issue year which is usually full of recalls.

The problem here is you have CR reporting reliability without using anything but antidotal data. They are not using industry numbers, they are using numbers reported by subscribers, So if you have a ton of people driving hondas and toyotas because CR suggested them, while you only have a few driving Fords and GMs then your data isnt going to be right.

Couple with what CR uses as their criteria of a reliability issue (a carpet coming up rates the same as a engine issue) and you have bunk reporting.

@vastrightwing: Looks like years of spending money trying to fool people are catching up with them. Shame they didnt save some of that money and use it to try to make a good car rather than paying someone to tell them over sized buttons on a dash looks good.

@smythe: No they are right. They are using REAL industry data. CR is using antidotal evidence of subscribers.

@Jim Topoleski: You're suggesting, though, that your personal experience must necessarily be representative, and the fact that it isn't falsifies the list. That's not how statistics work, and it's our tendency toward experiential bias that they can be useful in combatting.

Every brand will have had individual cars that died like dogs and lasted forever, and there's probably quite a bit of variation in overall performance even between models and years of each of these brands as well. As CR itself will certainly emphasize, since they spend a lot of time reviewing individual models and years. But it's interesting to see that overall there seem to be brand trends, and in light of the bailout it's interesting to see what they are.

Does anyone else notice the absence of Nissan on this list? I've driven a Nissan in one shape or another since I turned 16 and they have all been heads over the 2 fords my wife and I have owned. I'm currently driving the wheels off of my 2001 Maxima at 105,000 miles and it'll still get up and go.

Why are the front windshields always tinted?

@Jim Topoleski: The proper way to use antidotal in the sentence: "Trading in your Ford for a Subaru would be antidotal to trips to the dealer for repairs."

I love my VW!!! Where is VW on that list?

@Jim Topoleski: Jim, I think it's time for disclosures.

What's your occupation?

Do you have any vested interest between specific vehicle manufacturer? Are you compensated on the behalf of a specific vehicle manufacturer?

Welcome to the new Consumerist, where you'll be linking to account-required portions of the Consumer Reports website?

@vastrightwing: Actually, I'm betting these results are less accurate than you might think. Just trying to figure out who is selling the most reliable new cars on the market is near impossible because it's a moving target. Looking at Consumer Reports data for most Subarus, it appears that they fall apart after a 4-5 years compared to other manufacturers. Or is that data really saying that in the past 4-5 years they really stepped it up in the reliability department and as time goes on the history will reflect it better? So while Ford may not be on that most reliable list (which they probably won't until their truck based vehicles are more reliable, according to CR), who's to say their cars aren't just as reliable as Toyota's now? That's a statement CR also made recently.

@Jim Topoleski: Not to mention CR was one of the one's making that claim about Ford. They said that, excluding their truck based vehicles, Ford was as reliable as Toyota and Honda.

@Erwos: No need to keep it a secret. It's a great track-day car.

Me wants one too.

@ElizabethD: With Subaru, as with any other car, it's best to buy pre-owned. Let someone else taste the rind. It's better for your pocketbook as well.

We would never eat the 30% (or so) depreciation in the first two years ever again.

That being said, our Impreza (now 5) is incredibly reliable. Cheap on the inside-we spent it all on the drivetrain-reliable.