Consumer Reports recently released its annual reliability report, and once again, Japanese brands dominated just as they did across the pond, with the Mazda MX-5 being named the UK's most reliable car. Consumer Reports gives a brand a score out of 100, and the average is usually between 41 to 60 points. The average reliability for Asian brands is 62, followed by European manufacturers with 44, and domestic brands on 18 points.
The top ten list of manufacturers is Lexus (76), Mazda (75), Toyota (71), Infiniti (69), Buick (66), Honda (66), Subaru (66), Acura (64), Nissan (63), and Mini (60). That's essentially all Japan, apart from one US and one British manufacturer. There was insufficient data for Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Fiat, Jaguar Land Rover, Maserati, Mitsubishi, and Polestar.
The least reliable brands were Volkswagen (31), Genesis (30), Jeep (26), Tesla (25), and Lincoln (18). Not surprisingly, Lincoln's sedan sales are a bit of a dumpster fire at the moment, and the all-new Zephyr will only be sold in China.
When it comes to body style, it's the long-standing models that did best. Sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, coupes, and convertibles are all piled under the "cars" category, with a predicted reliability score of 57. SUVs are second with 50 points, and pickups and vans scored 43.
When it comes to BEVs and hybrids, the latter is more reliable. It makes sense, considering hybrids and plug-in hybrids have been around for longer than pure EVs. All-electric SUVs performed the worst. Consumer Reports makes an interesting point regarding electric SUVs. Considering the simplicity of an electric motor, you'd expect any EV to be as reliable as the sun, but it's most often the in-car electronics that go wrong. Here, feature-heavy cars like the Audi e-Tron and Tesla Model X are mentioned.
Consumer Reports also published a list of the top ten most reliable cars and the least reliable vehicles. The most reliable car on sale is the 2022 Lexus GX (100 points), which should be no surprise. Not only has it been around for more than a decade, but it's also well known that this particular SUV was built to withstand the harsh conditions in Africa and Australia. It will be interesting to see whether the GX will retain this spot after its upcoming upgrade.
Second place went to the Kia Niro Electric with 95 points, doing the most to improve EV's reputation. In third place is the Toyota Prius Prime with 93 points, followed by the standard Prius with 91 points. The USA makes it into the top five with the 2022 Cadillac XT5 on 89 points.
The least reliable car is quite surprising. With just five points, it's the Mercedes-Benz GLE. The Ford Explorer (8) and Ford Mustang (9) were the only other cars to score single-digit figures. Chevrolet's Silverado 1500 scored a total of 11, followed by the new Corvette on 13. People don't seem to mind the latter's poor reliability, as the new Corvette supply and demand issues have seen people paying Porsche 911 Turbo money to get one.
It's not all bad news, as Consumer Reports also mentioned the American cars that scored above average. Examples include the Buick Envision, Chevy Trailblazer, Chrysler 300, Mustang Mach-E, and Ranger.