Toyota Yet Again Claims The Most Reliable Car Brand Spot

There’s a significant caveat to this study, as Consumer Reports focuses on the American market, so the results can’t simply be applied to Europe. Moreover, these are new cars. Consumer Reports claimed to have based its findings on data from 380,000 vehicles, making a prediction about the reliability of cars from the respective brands. The models included cars from 2023, 2024, 2025, and (this already exists). Because Consumer Reports requires a minimum number of submissions, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Fiat, Land Rover, and Lucid, among others, were excluded this time.

Is the reliability of a brand-new car important? Yes, says Consumer Reports. New cars do come with a warranty, but driving back and forth to the dealership is time-consuming and inconvenient. Moreover, the warranty expires within a day, which is reason enough for Consumer Reports to strongly urge consumers to consider expected reliability, even when buying a new car.

There are no major surprises at the top of the list. Toyota is in first place, and its standing is practically obligated to be, with Subaru and Lexus completing the podium. Below them is Honda, and then, remarkably, BMW, the only European brand in the entire top 10. Following BMW are two more Japanese brands, and then it’s the turn of the first American brand, General Motors’ Buick.

Below Buick is Tesla, and that’s worth mentioning. This brand achieved the largest increase of all brands, now surpassing Kia and Hyundai and moving up a full eight spots. The Tesla Model 3 was also declared the most reliable electric car in the study.

Most Reliable New Cars by Brand
(Consumer Reports, 2025)

That brings us to the different powertrains. Consumer Reports distinguished between pure gasoline models, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs, concluding that the latter two categories still cause more problems for their drivers. The same cannot be said of plug-in hybrids, because despite complex technology, these cars often even score better than pure gasoline cars. Surely Toyota has nothing to do with that…?

Used cars

Consumer Reports also looked at the reliability of older cars between 5 and 10 years old. Tesla is at the very bottom of the list in that category, but the Japanese carmakers still share the top spots. BMW also performs best here among all European brands, although Audi and Volvo both make the top 10. The complete list in the 5- to 10-year-old category is below.

Most Reliable Used Cars (5-10 Years) by Brand
(Consumer Reports, 2025)

If this research is to be believed, used car buyers are also best off looking for a Toyota or Lexus.

• Also See: MINI Cooper Named One Of The Most Reliable EVs