The most reliable car in South Africa

A recent Consumer Reports (CR) study found that Lexus builds the most reliable vehicles in the world scoring a reliability rating of 79/100, with the ES, NX, RX, and UX – all of which are available in South Africa – standing out as the brand’s most trustworthy models.

Few will be surprised to learn that Lexus’ parent organisation Toyota was in second with a score of 76/100, while BMW’s sub-brand Mini claimed third with 71/100.

CR determined these ratings by asking owners of these vehicles about the problems they experienced with them over the previous 12 months.

A total of 330,000 individuals were surveyed owning vehicles as old as 23 years, with 20 “trouble areas” under the microscope from irritations such as squeaky brakes, to major issues including engine and gearbox problems.

Thereafter, CR weighed the severity of each type of problem and used this data to create a “predicted reliability score” for each vehicle, ranging from 1 to 100.

The reliability rating was then combined with data collected from CR’s track testing, as well as its owner satisfaction survey results and safety data, to calculate each test vehicle’s overall reliability score.

In its latest study, CR found that vehicles from Asia have the highest overall score at 63/100, followed by European automakers at 46/100, and in third place the Americans at 39/100.

Moreover, sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons remained the most reliable vehicle type with an average rating of 57/100, trailed by SUVs at 50/100, and and minivans at 45/100.

Most reliable cars on the market

The most reliable car brands on the market, according to the Consumer Reports study, are detailed below.

The underlined brands are all available in South Africa, but not necessarily every model that is included in the report.