Most reliable car 2005

[redkingjoe]

According to April 05 Consumer Reports of the US. Toyota tops other automakers in 2005 New-Car Reliabilty: 1. Scion, 2. Lexus, 3. Toyota, 4 Subaru, 5 Honda, 6. Acura, 7 Mitsubishi, 8 Infiniti, 9 Hyundai, 10. Suzuki.

The bottom ten are: Mini, BMW, Lincoln, VW, Hummer, MB, Jaguar and Land Rover. When the vehicles age, Asian brands appear to have 50% fewer problems per 100 vehicles than European brands.

Consumer Report Bad Bets "Be especially careful when considering these models. They have shown several years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability in their 1997 to 2004 models." Some of these are: Audi A6, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar S-Type, Jaguar X-Type, Land Rover Discovery, MB C-Class V6, MB CLK, MB M-Clas, MB S-Class, and Volvo S80.

[Loafer]

got to be subaru out of all those brands for me

all that performance and the damn thing is indestructible.

[redkingjoe]

got to be subaru out of all those brands for me

all that performance and the damn thing is indestructible.

good choice dude

One very interesting feature of the 2005 Consumer Reports reliability ratings ( and the article, for some reason, did not mention this ) is that even though Scion / Toyota / Lexus vehicles generally get the highest marks for reliability, this year Subaru is the only auto brand in the American market where Consumer Reports formally recommends EVERY one of their products. That is because a vehicle can be extremely reliable, yet not be on the CR recommended list for other reasons........mediocre performance in CR tests, safety problems, instability / tipping problems with SUV's, etc.....

In order to meet CR's recommended criteria, a vehicle must be at least average in reliability AND do well in all of CR's tests besides. This is an important criteria and is often overlooked.

[littlemissloud]

i have to disagree.....im sure a Micra is the most reliable.

Ive hashed mine about soo much, its about 500 years old and done 72000 miles, passes its MOT nae bother, yet it still starts every morning. (at a fifth attempt usually i'll admit)!!

[Phil McBride]

i have to disagree.....im sure a Micra is the most reliable.

Ive hashed mine about soo much, its about 500 years old and done 72000 miles, passes its MOT nae bother, yet it still starts every morning. (at a fifth attempt usually i'll admit)!!

I prefer the Lexus

On that note a micra is not safe in a crash, yes I am speaking from experience.

[littlemissloud]

not crashed yet. only the back of a parked lorry and a couple of pillars that moved into my way when i was parking.

[Phil McBride]

I'm talking full head on collision

[redkingjoe]

i have to disagree.....im sure a Micra is the most reliable.

Ive hashed mine about soo much, its about 500 years old and done 72000 miles, passes its MOT nae bother, yet it still starts every morning. (at a fifth attempt usually i'll admit)!!

you usually need to attempt the fifth time to start the car!!!! my car at the age of 78,500 starts every morning or night at the first attempt. i remember that there were only less than 5 counts that the car required the second attempt to get started.

u had better get the car an "examination" or ask around to see if there's any problems. i was told that the more attempt u need to start the car, the higher the chance you aggravate an existing problem.

[littlemissloud]

i was slightly exaggerating!

[redkingjoe]

i was slightly exaggerating!

hohoho. that's a good one. :D

[redkingjoe]

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Toyota Motor Corporation, General Motors Corporation Garner Most Awards in
2005 Initial Quality Study


HUMMER, Nissan and Scion Show Strong Improvement


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.,: 18 May 2005 — Toyota Motor Corporation and General Motors Corporation, the two largest automobile manufacturers in the world, capture 15 of the 18 top model segment awards, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) released today.
In the study, Toyota Motor Corporation earns 10 of the top model segment awards, with the Lexus SC 430 honored as the highest-ranking model for the second consecutive year, at 54 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Other Toyota models earning segment awards include the Toyota Prius (Compact Car), Scion tC (Sporty Car) and Toyota RAV4 (Entry SUV).

General Motors earns five top model segment awards, including those for the Chevrolet Malibu/Malibu Maxx (Entry Midsize Car), Buick Century (Premium Midsize Car) and Chevrolet Suburban (Full-Size SUV).

"The 2005 IQS results contain some genuinely good news for General Motors," said Chance Parker, executive director of product and research analysis at J.D. Power and Associates. "The improvements of the quality of several models and at their North American plants are both very positive signs."

Ford Motor Company captures two model awards, with the Ford Explorer Sport Trac (Midsize Pickup) and Ford F-150 LD (Full-Size Pickup) ranking highest in their respective segments.

Assembly Plant Awards

General Motors Corporation sweeps the North/South America plant quality awards. General Motors’ Oshawa #2, Ontario, Canada, plant, which produces the Buick Century, Buick LaCrosse and Pontiac Grand Prix, earns the Gold Plant Quality Award. The Oshawa #1, Ontario, and Hamtramck, Mich., plants earn the Silver and Bronze Plant Quality awards, respectively.

For the fourth consecutive year, Toyota Motor Corporation’s Tahara, Japan, car plant receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for worldwide plant quality with a score of 59 PP100. The Tahara plant produces the Lexus GS 300/GS 430 and the Lexus LS 430. Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji, Japan, plant and Nissan’s Tochigi, Japan, plant earn the Silver and Bronze Plant Quality awards, respectively, among Asia Pacific plants.

Among European plants, Ford Motor Company’s Jaguar plant in Halewood, Liverpool, U.K., receives the Gold Plant Quality Award. BMW’s Regensburg, Germany, plant earns the Silver Plant Quality Award. BMW’s Munich and Porsche’s Stuttgart plants tie for the Bronze Plant Quality Award.

Marked Improvement

The study shows that a number of makes and models demonstrate marked improvements from the 2004 study. Chief among them is HUMMER, with a 36 percent reduction in reported problems. Since its debut in the 2003 IQS, HUMMER has reduced reported problems by 115 PP100.

"In the past, there was a lot of talk about HUMMER’s poor quality being related to poor fuel economy," said Parker. "This year’s results clearly show that the people at HUMMER knew this wasn’t the case. They identified many customer-reported problems and solved them."

Nissan also performed dramatically better in the 2005 study, with the Nissan Quest as the most-improved model, recording an impressive 104 PP100 improvement. Other models showing notable improvements are the Kia Spectra (64 PP100 improvement), the HUMMER H2 (63 PP100 improvement), and the Scion xA (62 PP100 improvement).

Overall, the automotive industry garners only a minor increase in industry-wide initial quality in 2005. After showing an 11 percent quality improvement from 2003 to 2004, the overall industry average has improved only one PP100 in 2005 to 118 PP100.

"Competition in the automotive industry is incredibly intense," said Parker. "Even though the 2005 results may suggest a plateau in quality, manufacturers should not become complacent. The IQS has tracked similar apparent ‘plateaus’ before in 1996 and 2003. In both cases, the following year’s results showed dramatic quality improvements. Car companies that take their eye off the ball risk being left behind."

Manufacturers demonstrate overall improvement in more than one-half of the 135 problem symptoms included in the study, compared to 2004. Among the nine problem categories surveyed, ride/handling/braking and exterior problems continue to cause the greatest challenge to manufacturers. Consumers report that the transmission causes the least number of problems.

What IQS Measures

IQS is a model-level study. It measures 135 attributes across nine categories, including ride/handling/braking, engine and transmission, and a broad range of quality problems symptoms reported by vehicle owners.

The 2005 Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 62,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2005 model-year cars and trucks, who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. This industry benchmark study for new-vehicle initial quality is now in its 19th year.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.