- Subaru has been named the most reliable brand for the first time in Consumer Reports’ annual rankings
- Toyota fell for new engines in new vehicles
- Rivian ranked last for reliability, although 15 other brands were not ranked at all
Toyota or its luxury brand Lexus no longer tops rankings of most reliable brands, according to an annual report published by Consumer Reports magazine on Thursday.
Subaru is now ranked as the most reliable car brand. It is the first time the small Japanese automaker has won the top spot historically dominated by Toyota, which has dominated the sales charts with vehicles such as Best-selling Toyota RAV4.
The annual survey collects data from owners as well as Consumer Reports’ internal testing on hundreds of thousands of vehicles spanning the years 2000 to 2024. The survey examines 20 potential problems that owners have encountered in the past 12 months, ranging from transmission and electric motor issues to climate controls and in-car electronics such as Touch interfaces and infotainment systemslong a Point of frustration For many new car owners.
Subaru appears to have embraced what has kept Toyota and Lexus at the top of the reliability rankings for at least the past five years, by… Make incremental updates With fasteners common across the lineup. Redesigned Subaru cars, as in 2025 Subaru Forestertook a conservative approach, which drew criticism from Toyota until the recent overhaul of its brand.
Starting from Toyota Tundra pickup truck Redesigned for 2022, Toyota has redesigned nearly every vehicle in its extensive lineup of sedans, SUVs, trucks and sport coupes, culminating with Toyota 4Runner 2025which was last redesigned in 2010. A lot has changed in 15 years.
Many of the redesigned SUVs and trucks in the Toyota family feature more efficient and smaller turbo and hybrid engines instead V-8 engines threatened by emissions Which has been fueling the lineup for a long time. New cars usually mean new problems.
Subaru has stuck almost stubbornly to it Flat boxer motor 4 In vehicles such as Subaru CrosstrekAnd it lacks any electrification, with the exception of the Subaru Solterra electric crossover, which was manufactured in partnership with Toyota.
To evaluate a brand’s overall reliability, Consumer Reports takes into account reported problems for each specific model in the brand’s lineup. The Solterra is the only Subaru to receive a below-average score in predicted reliability. Predicted reliability is the average of the scores for the past three years of the model as long as it has not been redesigned.
Below-average ratings for the Tundra, the new Tacoma midsize pickup truck, as well as the Solterra-related bZ4X EV, pulled down Toyota’s overall reliability rating.
“While brand ratings can guide you to the showroom, it’s more important to look at the reliability of specific models before making a purchasing decision,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center. “Even within high-profile companies, there can be significant variation in reliability.”
The new Tundra has faced many problems, as it has been recalled 10 times since the launch of the 2022 model. These problems led Toyota to make the costly decision in July to replace more than 100,000 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine In Tundra and Lexus LX 2022-2023. Consumer Reports acknowledged that the recalls don’t hurt the brand in its reliability rankings, although ongoing problems do.
Despite recent stumbles in its new SUV and truck lineup, Toyota still ranks third and Lexus ranks second. Most reliable among 22 brands. Fifteen brands, ranging from Ram to Porsche, were not ranked due to insufficient data.
Consumer Reports 2025 Brand Reliability Ratings
In general, Asian brands, followed by German brands, were significantly better in terms of reliability than local automakers. Buick, which follows Subaru and Toyota’s conservative, incremental approach to new models, was it Highest local rank insignia (although half of its models are made in Asia) in 11th place, putting it in the middle of the global rankings.
This year, Mazda fell to sixth place due to more problems with its CX-90 hybrid, and Hyundai fell to 10th place due to continuing problems with its Ioniq 5 electric crossover and transmission issues with the Santa Cruz pickup truck, according to Consumer Reports.
Rivian’s rating is the last For reliability due to issues reported with the R1T pickup truck, from the paint and trim to the electric vehicle charging systems.
