
Subaru ranks as the most reliable vehicle brand for 2025, replacing Toyota and Lexus which have traded the two top spots for years.
This is according to the most recent study from Consumer Reports (CR), which questioned thousands of owners about problems they experienced with their vehicles in the previous 12 months.
This year, CR gathered data on more than 300,000 vehicles covering the 2000 to 2024 model years, with a few 2025 models that were introduced early enough also thrown into the mix.
The study focused on 20 trouble areas, ranging from small irritants such as squeaky brakes and broken interior plastics, to big issues like engine and transmission problems.
Each area is assigned a weighted severity score to create a predicted reliability score for each vehicle from 1 to 100.
These scores inform the final reliability ratings assigned to every mainstream vehicle brand.
“Consumer Reports’ brand-level rankings are based on the average predicted reliability score of the models in each brand’s lineup. We must have sufficient data for at least two models to rank each brand,” said the company.
“The data allows us to determine whether a brand’s rank went up or down from its position in our last survey. For each brand, we list every model for which we have data.”
CR highlighted that it had insufficient data to create brand rankings for Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Lucid, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Polestar, Porsche, and Ram.
Most reliable car brands
“Subaru’s cars share many reliable components,” said Steven Elek, who oversees auto data analytics at Consumer Reports.
“This commonality means that when Subaru redesigns a vehicle, it can make fewer incremental changes by carrying over dependent systems. This reduces the risk of new problems.”
Meanwhile, Toyota took a hit as a result of below-average reliability ratings for several of its new vehicles, including the Tacoma and Tundra bakkies, as well as the bZ4X.
However, it still has four models that scored well above average, seven that scored above average, and five that scored average. Four Lexus cars scored above average, too, while three came in at average.
Coincidentally, Subaru’s only model with below-average reliability is the Solterra EV, which itself is a rebadged Toyota bZ4X.
After Subaru, Lexus, and Toyota, Honda comes in fourth place.
Three of its vehicles scored above average this year, while seven did average. Acura, Honda’s luxury sub-brand, landed fifth, with one above-average model and one average.
The most reliable car brands on the market, as per CR’s research, are shown below:
Rank | Brand | Models | Predicted reliability |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Subaru | Ascent, Crosstrek, Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback, Solterra | 68/100 |
2. | Lexus | ES, ES Hybrid, NX, NX Hybrid, NX Plug-in Hybrid, RX, RX Hybrid, TX | 65/100 |
3. | Toyota | bZ4X, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Corolla Hybrid, Corolla Cross, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Crown, Grand Highlander, Grand Highlander Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius Prime, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, RAV4 Prime, Sienna, Tacoma, Tundra | 62/100 |
4. | Honda | Accord, Accord Hybrid, Civic, CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot, Ridgeline | 59/100 |
5. | Acura | MDX, RDX | 55/100 |
6. | Mazda | 3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-50, CX-90, CX-90 Plug-in Hybrid, MX-5 Miata | 55/100 |
7. | Audi | A4, A4 Allroad, A5, Q5, Q7, Q8 E-Tron | 54/100 |
8. | BMW | 3 Series, 4 Series, i4, iX, X5, X5 Plug-in Hybrid | 53/100 |
9. | Kia | Carnival, EV6, EV9, Niro, Niro EV, Seltos, Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Soul, Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Telluride | 51/100 |
10. | Hyundai | Elantra, Elantra Hybrid, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, Kona, Palisade, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-in Hybrid | 50/100 |
11. | Buick | Encore GX, Envision | 48/100 |
12. | Nissan | Altima, Ariya, Frontier, Leaf, Pathfinder, Rogue | 48/100 |
13. | Ford | Bronco, Bronco Sport, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Explorer, F-150, F-150 Hybrid, F-150 Lightning, Maverick, Maverick Hybrid, Mustang, Mustang Mach-E | 44/100 |
14. | Genesis | G70, GV60, GV70, GV80 | 40/100 |
15. | Volvo | XC40, XC60, XC60 Plug-in Hybrid | 38/100 |
16. | Chevrolet | Blazer, Blazer EV, Colorado, Corvette, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500HD, Suburban, Tahoe, Trailblazer, Trax | 37/100 |
17. | Tesla | Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y | 36/100 |
18. | VW | ID.4, Taos, Tiguan | 34/100 |
19. | Jeep | Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee L, Wrangler | 33/100 |
20. | GMC | Canyon, Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500HD, Yukon, Yukon XL | 33/100 |
21. | Cadillac | Lyriq, XT5 | 27/100 |
22. | Rivian | R1S, R1T | 14/100 |
Looking at the bigger picture, Asia-based automakers continue to lead the industry in reliability, with an overall average score of 57 for the region on a scale of 1 to 100.
European automakers are in second place at 48 out of 100, while nameplates hailing from the United States sit in third with 38.
Cars—a category that includes sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons—remain the most reliable vehicle type, with an average reliability rating of 60, followed by minivans at 57.
SUVs came in with a reliability rating of 49, while bakkies sat dead last with 36.
CR furthermore determined that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are the most susceptible to manufacturer defects, followed by normal hybrids (HEVs), internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and electric vehicles (EVs).
PHEVs exhibit problems in all 20 trouble areas – 17 from ICE vehicles and 3 from EVs – given the complexity of the dual-purpose technology.
HEVs have 19 potential trouble areas, ICEs have 17, and EVs have 12.
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