Vehicle Reliability Based on 2016 Consumer Reports Data

This is a summary of the 2016 Consumer Reports magazine vehicle reliability data, based on repair statistics. A rating of 1 through 5 (5 being the best) is given to each component (e.g. engine major, engine minor, fuel system, brakes etc.) of each model of a make for every year in the past six years, followed by a general "Used Car Verdict" rating for the model of every year, and a general "New Car Prediction" rating for the model. I took the average of the model reliability ratings for each vehicle make ("New" or "Discontinued" models are omitted), and sorted the make ratings as follows. Thus, we see that Lexus has the highest reliability of 4.94 for used cars and 5 for new car prediction, followed by Toyota of 4.73 and 4.82, respectively. Although Audi is predicted by the magazine to have a high reliability (4.25), its used cars so far, on average, are not as impressive.

Used Car Verdict

 1 Lexus       4.942857143 *************************************************
 2 Toyota      4.727272727 ***********************************************
 3 Mazda       4.37037037  ********************************************
 4 Scion       4.333333333 *******************************************
 5 Acura       4.2         ******************************************
 6 Honda       4.133333333 *****************************************
 7 Subaru      4.033333333 ****************************************
 8 Kia         3.586206897 ************************************
 9 Audi        3.481481481 ***********************************
10 Lincoln     3.461538462 ***********************************
11 Buick       3.4375      **********************************
12 Hyundai     3.404761905 **********************************
13 Nissan      3.395833333 **********************************
14 GMC         3.129032258 *******************************
15 Infiniti    3.1         *******************************
16 Volvo       3.06667     *******************************
17 Porsche     3           ******************************
18 Chevrolet   2.984848485 ******************************
19 Mercedes    2.833333333 ****************************
20 Ram         2.8         ****************************
21 Ford        2.746031746 ***************************
22 BMW         2.657894737 **************************
23 Volkswagen  2.405405405 ************************
24 Mini Cooper 2.4         ************************
25 Dodge       2.304347826 ***********************
26 Cadillac    2.214285714 **********************
27 Chrysler    1.9         *******************
28 Jeep        1.857142857 *******************
29 Tesla       1.75        ******************
30 Fiat        1.4         **************

New Car Prediction

 1 Lexus                     5    **************************************************
 2 Toyota                    4.82 ************************************************
 3 Audi                      4.25 *******************************************
 4 Subaru, Mazda             4    ****************************************
 6 Kia                       3.83 **************************************
 7 Buick                     3.8  **************************************
 8 Hyndai                    3.44 **********************************
 9 Porsche, Honda            3.25 ********************************
11 Mini Cooper, Volvo, Scion 3    ******************************
14 BMW, Volkswagen           2.86 *****************************
16 Nissan                    2.78 ****************************
17 Ford                      2.64 **************************
18 Acura, Ram                2.5  *************************
20 Lincoln                   2.33 ***********************
21 Chevrolet                 2.11 *********************
22 Tesla, Mercedes, Cadillac 2    ********************
25 GMC                       1.83 ******************
26 Chrysler, Dodge, Infiniti 1.67 *****************
29 Jeep                      1.33 *************
30 Fiat                      1    **********

Comparing the new car prediction to that of the 2015 ratings, we see that Lexus and Toyota continue to take the first and second places. But Mazda has slightly slipped and Audi significantly improved. There are two big drops: Honda from 5th to 9th, and Infinity from 13th to 26th.

Appendix Reliability ratings of models (New Car Prediction only; the first column is the make average)

WARNING: In compliance with Consumer Reports No Commercial Use Policy, this information must not be used for any commercial purpose including displayed on any Web page with advertisement.

See also 2015 ratings

May 2016