The prestigious publication “Consumer Reports” published its annual ranking of the most reliable car brands for 2025, based on hundreds of thousands of real driver testimonials.
This year’s ranking features changes right at the top of the table, as for the first time in several years, Toyota and Lexus have dropped one position, with another Japanese brand, Subaru, taking the lead in the ranking.
Subaru’s leadership was bolstered by the Forester and Impreza models, which according to the study recorded reliability scores above average, while other models from the Japanese brand, such as Crosstrek, Legacy, Outback, and Ascent, recorded scores at the average level.
“Subaru cars share many reliable components”, says Steven Elek, supervisor of automotive data analysis at “Consumer Reports”. “This similarity means that when Subaru redesigns a vehicle, it can make fewer changes, maintaining reliable systems, which reduces the risk of new problems.”
Thus, “Consumer Reports” placed Subaru in first place with 68 points out of a possible 100, followed by Lexus with 65 and Toyota with 62 points. Honda with 59, Acura and Mazda with 55, Audi with 54 points, BMW with 53, Kia with 51, and Hyundai with 50 points rounded out the top 10.
It is worth noting that the 2025 study by “Consumer Reports” analyzed over 300,000 responses from drivers, covering vehicles from 2000 to 2025.
The study analyzes 20 problem areas, which include brakes, engines, transmissions, batteries, and charging systems of electric vehicles, assigning a score from 1 to 100. The sum of the scores generates the final reliability ratings assigned to each car.
