december 2009 www.ConsumerReports.org 61

CarsRoad tests, auto products, hot topics

A high price doesn’t mean it’s reliable

Paying more for a new car doesn’t guarantee better reliabil-ity. As a group, inexpensive small cars and midsized family sedans

are the most reliable. That’s one of the findings of our 2009 Annual Auto Survey, based on our subscribers’ experiences with 1.4 million vehicles.

Small cars stand out. Twenty of 37 small cars have above-average predicted-reliabil-ity scores. Family cars fare nearly as well, with 21 out of 41 scoring above average.

Other interesting findings include the following:• A wide gulf separates the best from the worst. The least reliable vehicle, the Volk-swagen Touareg, is 27 times more likely to have a problem than the most reliable car, the Honda Insight.• Ford is tops among the domestic auto-makers. The Ford Fusion and Mercury Mi-lan once again beat the Honda Accord and

Toyota Camry. The upscale Lincoln MKZ beat its rivals, the Acura TL and Lexus EX. • Even good brands falter. Among the least reliable in their respective classes are the all-wheel-drive Lexus GS, the Nissan Versa sedan, and the Subaru Impreza WRX.• Five of the eight most reliable family cars are hybrids.

But reliability isn’t everything. Some very reliable models do not perform well enough in our road tests for us to recom-mend them. One example is the Toyota Yaris: Its ironclad reliability doesn’t make up for its below-average performance. The same applies to the Honda Insight and the Volvo S40, one of the most reliable nonhy-brid family cars.

Ford dominates the domesticsFord has consolidated its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class re-liability. Of the 51 Ford, Mercury, and Lin-

coln products that we surveyed, 46—or about 90 percent—are average or better, in-cluding the new Ford Flex SUV. But the Lin-coln division has mixed results; some models score below their Ford equivalents. All-wheel-drive versions of the Lincoln MKS, MKX, and MKZ, essentially high-end ver-sions of the Ford Taurus, Edge, and Fusion, respectively, are all below average.

GM shed the Hummer, Pontiac, and Saturn brands after emerging from bank-ruptcy. It now consists of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. Of the 48 models we surveyed from those brands, 20 have aver-age scores, and only the Malibu V6 sedan is better than average.

Some newer GM products are bright spots. In addition to the Malibu, the Buick Lucerne did well in our road tests, and it scores average in reliability. The Chevrolet Traverse SUV also makes the cut, as does its cousin, the Buick Enclave, but only in the all-wheel-drive version. The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, two good performers, earn our recommen-dation as well. GM has a number of strong contenders either just released or in the pipeline, but they are too new for us to have reliability data on them.

We recommend the Pontiac Vibe, the V8 version of the Pontiac G8, and the Sat-urn Aura, which have average or better reliability. Some of those cars can still be found on dealer lots.

As for Chrysler, we couldn’t recom-mend any of its products in last year’s

ReportsNew-car reliability 61Family sedans 64Mazda3 sedan 70

Domestic cars vs. the imports

Car-owner satisfaction and road tests of large and upscale sedans.

Next month

Asian vehicles are the most reliable overall, according to our latest predicted-reliability scores. These graphs show the percentage of models that rate above average, average, and below average for that measure.

News

16% 17%

47% 42%

37 %41%

69%

25%

6%

AverageBelow

averageAbove

average

Predicted reliability

Asian brands 132 models

European brands 64 models

American brands 142 models

62 consumer reports december 2009

survey because of mediocre performance, poor reliability, or both. Now we can rec-ommend one: the four-wheel-drive ver-sion of the redesigned Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. It did well in our road tests and rates average in reliability. Still, more than one-third of Chrysler products are much worse than average, including its new car-based SUV, the Dodge Journey.

Asian brands still commandThe major Japanese brands and South Ko-rea’s Hyundai and Kia make plenty of reli-able vehicles. Of the 48 models with top reliability scores, 36 are Asian. Toyota ac-counts for 18; Honda, eight; Nissan, four; and Hyundai/Kia and Subaru, three each.

Japanese vehicles are consistently good. All Hondas and Acuras are average or above. Toyota, with its Lexus and Scion brands, provides a broader product range. The Lexus GS AWD is the only Toyota mod-el below average in reliability.

Nissan and its Infiniti luxury division have mostly been very reliable. The once-troublesome Infiniti QX56 and Nissan Arma-da are now average, as is the four-wheel- drive Nissan Titan, although its rear- wheel-drive version is still troublesome. The Nissan Versa has produced uneven re-sults. Over the last two surveys, the hatch-back has been average while the sedan has been far below average. The Nissan Quest minivan also remains troublesome.

Subaru has been a very reliable brand.

But this year the turbocharged Impreza WRX turned up with a worse-than- average reliability score, even though other Imprezas have been average or bet-ter, as are all other Subarus.

Hyundai and Kia continue to make reliable cars. The Hyundai Elantra and Tucson, and the Kia Sportage get top marks. The new Hyundai Genesis V6 is better than average; the V8 version is av-erage. Only Kia’s Sedona minivan and Sorento SUV score below average.

Good news from EuropeEuropean brands continue to improve. Mercedes-Benz has significantly rebound-ed, with most models average or better, and the GLK does exceptionally well in its first year in our survey. Scores from rival BMW are more mixed. The 535i sedan and X3 SUV declined in reliability, and the 135i, debuting in this survey, scores below average. Some BMW models have average or better reliability, but the 328i versions are the only ones that we have tested and can recommend.

Volkswagen and Audi are also staging a nice recovery. The Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf) and the new CC get top scores. The VW Jetta’s recommendation now extends to the diesel version, making it the only diesel we currently recommend. Both the Passat and Audi A3 have improved so that they now have average reliability scores. The new VW Tiguan SUV is average. The

Audi Q7 SUV continues to be much worse than average, but not as bad as its plat-form mate, the VW Touareg, which not only scores poorly but has the worst new-car prediction score in the survey.

All of Volvo’s sedans are average or bet-ter, but Volvo’s XC90 SUV is below average. Porsche, which has been doing quite well in our survey of late, has one serious hic-cup this year: The Boxster drops to below average, which strikes it from our recom-mended list. But the Cayenne SUV im-proved to average.

How we assess reliabilityOur data are based on an annual survey of subscribers to Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org and are not derived from our vehicle testing. A model needs at least 100 responses for us to score it.

From the survey, we create a reliability history for each model over the course of 10 years, 2000 to 2009. We use the data, in part, to help readers determine which used cars to choose. We also use it to fore-cast how 2010 models will hold up. That predicted-reliability score is based on a model’s overall reliability for the latest three model years, provided that the 2010 version hasn’t changed significantly. If a model was new or redesigned in that peri-od, we might use one or two years of data. We will make a prediction for a newly re-designed model only if previous versions had outstanding reliability.

what’s up and what’s down

Newly recommendedModels with improved reliabilityAudi A3Buick Enclave (AWD)Porsche Cayenne*Saab 9-3 convertible*Suzuki XL-7Volkswagen Passat

New or redesigned for 2009 or early 2010 models that have insufficient data: Audi Q5, Chevrolet Camaro, Hyundai Genesis coupe, Kia Borrego, Kia Soul, Nissan 370Z, Nissan Cube, Suzuki Equator, Volkswagen Routan, and Volvo XC60. * Based on data from one model year only.

Not recommendedModels with declining reliabilityModels that now have

sufficient dataAudi A4*

Chevrolet Traverse (AWD)*

Dodge Ram 1500 (4WD)*Ford Flex*

Hyundai Genesis sedan (V6)*Infiniti FX35*Lexus RX*Mercedes-Benz GLK*Mazda6 (4-cyl.)*

Mazda6 (V6)*Nissan Maxima*Pontiac G8 (V8)Saturn Aura (4-cyl.)Toyota Venza (V6)*

Volkswagen Jetta (turbodiesel)*

Volkswagen CC (4-cyl.)*Volkswagen Tiguan*

BMW 535i (RWD)*

BMW X3

Cadillac DTS

Chevrolet Avalanche

Lexus GS (AWD)

Lincoln MKX (AWD)

Mazda CX-7

Mini Cooper Hatchback S

Porsche Boxster

Subaru Impreza WRX*

Volvo XC90 (V8)*

Models that now have sufficient data but are below averageBMW 135i*

Dodge Journey*

Jaguar XF*

Lincoln MKS (FWD)*

Saturn Astra*Audi A4

december 2009 www.ConsumerReports.org 63

Best and worst in reliabilityThe models listed below have earned the highest and lowest predicted reliability Ratings, based on our 2009 Annual Auto Survey. Models with an asterisk (*) are based on data of one model year only. Under “Most reliable,” models that are recommended also did well in our testing and

provide good overall safety if crash-tested and are designated with a c. Not all reliable models are recommended, either because they scored too low in our testing or overall safety (indicated by ⁄) or we have not tested that version.

Most reliable Listed in order of Ratings score, starting with the best score.

Least reliable Listed in order of Ratings score, starting with the worst score.

Small carsHonda Insight* ⁄ Nissan Versa sedan* Toyota Yaris Hatchback ⁄ Chevrolet Aveo

nc Honda Fit*

nc Scion xDToyota Yaris sedan ⁄

nc Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit)

nc Subaru Impreza Outback Sport

nc Honda Civic sedan

nc Hyundai Elantra

Family cars

nc Toyota Prius Chrysler SebringVolvo S40 (FWD)* ⁄ Dodge Avenger*

nc Ford Fusion (FWD)

nc Mercury Milan (FWD)

nc Ford Fusion Hybrid*

nc Mercury Milan Hybrid*

nc Nissan Altima Hybrid

nc Toyota Camry Hybrid

Upscale/Luxury carsnc Infiniti M35 (RWD) Jaguar XF*

nc Lincoln MKZ (FWD) BMW 535i*Acura TL (AWD)* Lincoln MKS (FWD)*

nc Lexus LS Cadillac STS (V6)Infiniti M45 Cadillac CTS (V6, RWD)

nc Volkswagen CC (4-cyl.)* Lexus GS (AWD)

Sporty cars/Coupes & convertiblesnc Lexus SC* Chrysler Sebring convertible*

Porsche Cayman Pontiac Solstice (nonturbo)*Scion tC ⁄ Saturn Sky (nonturbo)*Ford Mustang (V6)

nc Porsche 911Infiniti G Coupe

Most reliable Listed in order of Ratings score, starting with the best score.

Least reliable Listed in order of Ratings score, starting with the worst score.

Wagons/MinivansToyota Venza (4-cyl.)* Chrysler Town & Country

nc Subaru Outback (4-cyl.) Dodge Grand Caravan

nc Toyota Sienna

nc Honda Odyssey

Small SUVsnc Honda CR-V Saturn Vue (V6)

nc Toyota RAV4 Dodge Nitro

nc Subaru Forester (nonturbo)*

nc Hyundai Tucson

nc Kia SportageHonda Element ⁄

Midsized SUVsToyota FJ Cruiser ⁄ Jeep CommanderToyota 4Runner (V6) Dodge Journey*

Jeep Wrangler

Upscale/Luxury SUVsnc Mercedes-Benz GLK* Volkswagen Touareg*

Lexus RX Hybrid Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

nc Lexus RX* BMW X5 (V8)Mercedes-Benz R-ClassLand Rover LR2*Audi Q7

Large SUVsnc Toyota Sequoia* Chevrolet Suburban 2500

GMC Yukon XL 2500Chevrolet Suburban 1500GMC Yukon XL 1500

Pickup trucksToyota Tundra (V6) Chevrolet Colorado (4WD)Toyota Tacoma (V6, 2WD) GMC Canyon (4WD)

nc Honda Ridgeline Ford F-250 (turbodiesel, 4WD)*Nissan Titan (2WD)*

Honda Fit

Lincoln MKZ

Toyota RAV4