Following a new study of the power reserve of electric vehicles, the American edition of Consumer Reports has published the results of its traditional annual reliability rating. It should be immediately clarified that it is not based on technical inspection statistics, data from car service stations and other repair organizations, but on reviews and complaints from direct car owners over the past twelve months.
This year, more than 330 thousand cars produced in 2000-2023 took part in the study. 20 categories of problems were identified — from burnt-out light bulbs and worn upholstery to critical problems with the power plant and chassis. Each category is assigned its own weighting criterion, and then all points are combined into final scores for the model and brand.
The results turned out to be predictable: Lexus and Toyota have been holding the first two places in the manufacturers’ standings, periodically replacing each other, for many years. Four more Japanese brands (Acura, Honda, Subaru and Mazda) are in the top ten. The Korean Kia took tenth place, immediately after the European Porsche and BMW. A mini-sensation can be called the appearance of the Mini brand in the honorable third place.
Asia is firmly in the lead in the ranking of the regions of origin of the most reliable cars with 63 user approval points out of 100 possible. It is followed by Europe (46 out of 100), the USA closes the top three with an unsatisfactory 39 points out of 100.
The top ten most reliable models are literally occupied by Toyota: seven cars! Moreover, the 4Runner frame SUV and the Camry Hybrid sedan scored 87 points each, taking the first two places. The petrol Camry was only one point behind. Other Toyotas in the top 10 are the RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander Hybrid. Dilute the Toyota dominance of the BMW X5, Subaru Forester and Acura RDX.
The outsiders this year were Chrysler (18 points out of 100), Mercedes-Benz (23 points) and Rivian (24 points). The least reliable models are the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (in the title photo), Volkswagen Taos, Ford F-150 Hybrid, Volvo XC60 and Rivian R1T. Three Jeep models (Grand Cherokee L, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler), a Volkswagen Jetta sedan and a Nissan Frontier pickup truck also appeared in the top ten untrustworthy cars.
Finally, this year’s edition of Consumer Reports for the first time calculated reliability statistics by type of power plant. If we take classic cars with internal combustion engines as a starting point, then conventional hybrids outperform them by 26% (thanks to Toyota). But electric cars, on the contrary, are inferior by an impressive 79%. And rechargable hybrids performed quite catastrophically (146% more problems than with gasoline cars).