Consumer report most reliable vehicles for 06

[Colt]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/10/26/cr_most_reliable/index.html


Not one American badge mid and large SUV only two in any catagory..

Best predicted reliability:

(As calculated by Consumer Reports)

Small cars:

Toyota Echo

Honda Civic (2005)

Toyota Prius

Honda Civic Hybrid (2005)

Toyota Corolla

Subaru Impreza (non-turbo)

Sporty cars/Convertibles Coupes

Honda S2000

Mazda MX-5 Miata (2005)

Lexus SC430

Chevrolet Monte Carlo (2005)

Sedans

Lexus GS300/GS430*

Infiniti M35/M45*

Lexus IS300 (2005)

Honda Accord Hybrid*

Toyota Camry

Honda Accord 4-cyl.

Lexus LS430

Wagons

Toyota Matrix

Minivans

(None rated "Best")

Small SUVs

Toyota Rav4 (2005)

Honda CR-V

Honda Element

Subaru Forester

Mercury Mariner*

Mitsubishi Outlander

Mid-sized SUVs

Lexus RX400h (hybrid)*

Toyota Highlander

Toyota 4Runner (V-8)

Infiniti FX35

Large SUVs

Toyota Land Cruiser

Pick-up trucks

Honda Ridgeline*

Toyota Tundra

 

[cousincletus]

No big surprise. Consumer Reports has never been kind to American cars. Only American car I had that was a lemon was a 1987 Ford Ranger that I bought new. The rest have been very relible/durable. No major problems at all. But you have to watch what you buy as there are some models that are better than others.

 

[Gurkha]

CR has the most comprehensive testing procedure and their assessment is way more scientific than others, as such, I don't see any bias in their reporting. However it is quite hard to say about cars based on individual's experience. Having said that, I won't buy electronics or cameras based on CR's advice.

 

[Anthony]

Reliability to me is a car with a good powertrain that wont leave you on the side of the road.
Some cars have squeaks or rattles and consumer reports counts that against overall reliability.
Yes its a incovience to have to go to the dealer to get it repaired but It shouldnt count agaist overall reliability.
For example alot of 04 f150s had vibration problems and that was a huge factor in giving it a poor reliability rating for 04 but this problem never left anyone stranded on the side of the road.

 

[97tbird]

i wonder how many people bought a Hybrid Lexus RX 400h to get any idea of how repliable thatr thing is...
and btw, on that CNN report they also said that CR thinks Hyundai Elantra and Santa Fe would have medium level reliablitity or whatever...will be intersting to see how they come up in the coming yrs...

 

[jtantare]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Anthony:
Reliability to me is a car with a good powertrain that wont leave you on the side of the road.
Some cars have squeaks or rattles and consumer reports counts that against overall reliability.
Yes its a incovience to have to go to the dealer to get it repaired but It shouldnt count agaist overall reliability.
For example alot of 04 f150s had vibration problems and that was a huge factor in giving it a poor reliability rating for 04 but this problem never left anyone stranded on the side of the road.

---

Why shouldn't noises, vibrations and rattles be counted against a new car? If i spend $20k or more on a brand new vehicle I expect everything to work and feel perfect. If I am willing to put up with some small flaws I could just get a used car at a substantial discount.

 

[Kestas]

How can anybody possibly judge a car that is only one year old? To me a quality car is one that doesn't fall apart in the long haul, such as after 90K. I can't get excited over a crooked ashtray as I can over a broken crankshaft after a driving the car a number of years.

 

[lobo11]

The Toyota Matrix rolls right off the same line as the Pontiac Vibe, but the Vibe has a different badge on the front, so suprise it didn't make CR list.

 

[BatmanLS1]

I have read a few articles that do a good job discrediting CR. I think the allpar one did a good job of pointing out how they change wording for certain brands (Honda/Toyota). They have a bias against anything American and have terrible sampling methods.

ie, Two cars in the same segment get the exact same gas mileage. The non Honda is "acceptable" and the Honda product is "excellent".

 

[brianl703]

I think the main problem with CR is that glossy paper isn't as absorbent as newsprint and therefore isn't so good as birdcage liner.

 

[jsharp]

Why CR would rate a Toyota Corolla as having excellent reliability, but never mention the identical except for badges, built on the same line Chevrolet Nova. I'm no fan of American cars, but CR's ratings cannot be trusted IMO...

 

[XS650]

quote:

---

Originally posted by jsharp:
Why CR would rate a Toyota Corolla as having excellent reliability, but never mention the identical except for badges, built on the same line Chevrolet Nova. I'm no fan of American cars, but CR's ratings cannot be trusted IMO...

---

No one's ratings can be trusted 100%. First thing you need to do when someone recommends something is to try and figure out how they view the world, second is to try and figure out if they are telling the truth.

CU's reliability figures come from owners surveys. Owners surveys carry a lot of baggage other then the condition of the vehicle when it rolled out of the factory.

The service department at a car dealer and how well that department's backed up by the factory can have a big impact of how reliability gets reported. If a dealer takes care of a problem under warranty without hassle, it tends to be forgotten. If the service writer is dikhead, it will never be forgotten.

If Pontiac Views were sold at Toyota dealers and called Toyotas and Toyota Matriciis at Pontiac dealers and called Pontiacs, I expect the results would still say the Toyota sold flavor was more reliable.

 

[JAG]

These lists are very misleading. Whatever the reason behind it, they routinely list some cars as being reliable that are known to have many problems. Case in point: Subaru Impreza (non-turbo) version. I'd like to sue CR for listening to them and buying that car in 2002 that I ended up having to sell in 2 years and lost 10 grand in depreciation. And yes, back then, they also listed the 2002 as being reliable. It wasn't just my car either that was bad. Mine had: clutch chatter, burning 3/4 qt of oil from day 1, sticking clutch pedal, creaking chassis, worn out/noisy suspension bushings on all 4 corners in 20k miles, tons of metal particles in transmission oil at 15k miles. I guess Subaru has been a big funder of CR.

 

[jsharp]

quote:

---

Originally posted by XS650:

quote:

---

Originally posted by jsharp:
Why CR would rate a Toyota Corolla as having excellent reliability, but never mention the identical except for badges, built on the same line Chevrolet Nova. I'm no fan of American cars, but CR's ratings cannot be trusted IMO...

---

No one's ratings can be trusted 100%. First thing you need to do when someone recommends something is to try and figure out how they view the world, second is to try and figure out if they are telling the truth.

CU's reliability figures come from owners surveys. Owners surveys carry a lot of baggage other then the condition of the vehicle when it rolled out of the factory.

The service department at a car dealer and how well that department's backed up by the factory can have a big impact of how reliability gets reported. If a dealer takes care of a problem under warranty without hassle, it tends to be forgotten. If the service writer is dikhead, it will never be forgotten.

If Pontiac Views were sold at Toyota dealers and called Toyotas and Toyota Matriciis at Pontiac dealers and called Pontiacs, I expect the results would still say the Toyota sold flavor was more reliable.

---

Good points and I understand. Given my experience with Toyota dealers though, I'm afraid to think of the fun people must having at the Chevrolet store...

Another likely factor is that the people buying the Corolla think it's a reliable vehicle where the people getting a Nova don't have a strong opinion either way. Since CR is using owner data, this would certainly skew the numbers.

 

[Blue_Goose]

The Vibe and Matrix are just about identical except for some cosmetic stuff etc.

I bought the Matrix over the Vibe due to perceived trade in value if I ever do go that route and 5/60k Powertrain for the Toyota vs 3/36k for the Vibe. Vibe is built in Cali and the Matrix in Canada

 

[martyi]

It seems to me that a car needs to have a track record in order to be cosidered "reliable". No one has had a Honda Ridgeline for more than a few months (I bought mine in May). It is a super vehicle for sure, however, it is brand new in the fullest sense of the term - Honda never even built a truck before. I hope CR is correct of course but I wonder what assumptions they used to make that claim.

 

[jtantare]

quote:

---

Originally posted by martyi:
It seems to me that a car needs to have a track record in order to be cosidered "reliable". No one has had a Honda Ridgeline for more than a few months (I bought mine in May). It is a super vehicle for sure, however, it is brand new in the fullest sense of the term - Honda never even built a truck before. I hope CR is correct of course but I wonder what assumptions they used to make that claim.

---

They are not making any asumptions about the ridgeline. The drive train, electronics, suspension and the vast majority of its components have been in production for years in the MDX and Pilot. They are all built on the same production line.
The whole idea of the Ridgeline was to test the waters for the Honda pickup with the smallest financial investment possible. And its not selling very well.
The only real difference between the Matrix and Vibe is resale value. Who would want to take a Toyota to a Pontiac dealer to be serviced?

 

[brianl703]

quote:

---

Originally posted by jtantare:
They are not making any asumptions about the ridgeline. The drive train, electronics, suspension and the vast majority of its components have been in production for years in the MDX and Pilot.

---

The same is true for the Ford Fusion and the Mazda 6.

Yet, in another thread, you said about the Ford Fusion:

quote:

---

5 bucks says it will be recalled within 2 months for some catastrophic failure.

---

Whatever.

 

[PandaBear]

quote:

---

The Toyota Matrix rolls right off the same line as the Pontiac Vibe, but the Vibe has a different badge on the front, so suprise it didn't make CR list.

---

I know why, a friend of mine work in NUMMI and they have two teams, one from GM making Vibe, and the other from Toyota making Corolla. Matrix is made in Canada, not the same line

What he told me is that the rules and procedure of Toyota is followed very stright, no touching of the cars mean no touching. For GM, it is looser, after they load the vibes on the train people turn on the radio and sit in there to relax, etc.

The design is the same, the manufacturing procedure is followed differently.

 

[brianl703]

Might want to take a look at the JD Power ratings for the Vibe/Matrix.

The results are..interesting, to say the least.

BTW, it's been my observation that just about any given problem with any given automobile is going to be an engineering issue, not an assembly issue. (I'm exluding problems caused by abuse or incompetently performed repairs).

[ October 31, 2005, 11:32 PM: Message edited by: brianl703 ]