2012 Consumer Reports Predicts Automobile Reliability

AUBURN HILLS, MI, November 23, 2011 (Press-News.org) Consumer Reports has released their predicted reliability ratings for new 2012 model year cars. Many of the Asian brands saw big gains after having a few troublesome years as of late. The Domestics saw decreases in reliability as continually new products roll of their lines. The Europeans remain relatively constant as a mixed bag of above average and below average reliability ensued.

Asian Makes

Among the biggest gainers for the Asian makes are Lexus, Mazda, and Nissan who saw gains in overall place of 7, 8, and 5, respectively. Other Japanese makes like Scion, Acura, Toyota, and Hyundai all stayed flat. Seeing modest decreases were Honda, Infiniti, and Subaru. Even with these changes, the least reliable of the Asian makes, Kia, placed 12 of 28 overall, and still slightly above average in the industry. Scion held on to the number one spot again this year.

The 3 most reliable products on the market today came from Asian makes. These include the Lexus CT200h, Honda CR-Z, and Infiniti QX56. Among the least reliable Asian products were the Nissan 370z, which is among the least reliable products of any brand, the Toyota Sienna, and the Hyundai Santa Fe V6 were the other 2 in the bottom 3 for the Asian makes.

Domestic Makes

There were a few more shake ups here in the list of all brands. Among the biggest gainers overall were that of Chrysler and Jeep. Jeep surged 7 spots to 13 overall and Chrysler surged 12 spots to 15 overall, both now above average in the industry. The biggest loser were Ford which dropped 10 spots to 20 and then GM's Buick and Cadillac dropped near the bottom of the list, each falling 6 spots. Chevy remained constant at just below average and Lincoln jumped 1 spot to 14 at slightly above average.

The 3 most reliable products from the Domestics are the Chevy Volt, Ford Fusion Hybrid/Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and Chrysler 200 Sedan. Among the least reliable from the Domestics are the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra, Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX, and Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel. The Chevy Silverado was among the least unreliable vehicles among all brands.

European Makes

Like many years in the past, the European makes bring a mixed bag of reliability ratings. Some are very reliable and others are not so reliable. Among the biggest news here is Porsche which saw a drop in 25 spots from 2nd best last year to 2nd worst this year. This being due to the poor reliability ratings of the Cayenne and Panamera models, their two most popular products.

Among other changes were that of Mercedes Benz and BMW which each saw jumps of 4 spots each putting them at 18 and 19 overall. Slightly below average in the industry. Volkswagen and Audi remained flat at 16 and 26, respectively. Volkswagen represent s the industry average. Jaguar finished out at the bottom of the list while Volvo dropped a few spots to 10 of 28 but still remains more reliable than average in the industry and is Europe's most reliable brand.

The 3 most reliable products from the Euros are the Volkswagen Golf TDI, BMW X3, and Volvo C70. The 3 least reliable products from the Euro makes are the Audi Q5 V6, Volkswagen Routan, and all the Jaguar products were the worst in the industry.

Please see the chart for detailed information and be sure to pick up a copy of your Consumer Reports, on newsstands now.