It’s that time of the year when Consumer Reports announces its top ten most reliable automakers of the year. There has been a bit of a shuffle in the order in 2024 with Subaru overtaking Toyota in the reliability stakes.
While it may come as a surprise for some, the order remains the same in the luxury segment. For the nth year in a row, it’s Lexus that tops the survey in the pricer end of the car market.
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How does Consumer Report come up with the ratings? The organization sends out surveys to owners wherein they rate several aspects of their vehicles, reliability included. On top of that, Consumer Reports purchases showroom units for testing instead of borrowing test units, providing a bigger picture of the ownership experience.
For Lexus, all models tested by Consumer Reports, along with the surveys, received a predicted reliability rating of above average or well above average. These include the ES, NX, TX, and RX, both in ICE and electrified guises.
Consumer Reports noted that one of the keys to Lexus’ reliability is introducing new technologies gradually and improving aspects of its vehicles incrementally. It’s a stark contrast to other automakers that go for a dramatic redesign with new but yet to be proven tech.
The list of most reliable marques is dominated by the Japanese, but there two European entries that made it to the top ten. Leading the pack for Euro cars is Audi. While it wasn’t a clean sweep for reliability ratings, the A4, A4 Allroad, and Q7’s scores were high enough to bring the German automaker in seventh place.
The second and only other European brand in the top 10 is BMW. Like Audi, it wasn’t a total clean sweep, but the 3-Series, 4-Series, and non-hybrid X5 boosted the brand’s rating. Even the i4, the company’s EV sport sedan, has a predicted reliability of above average.
