NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - European sedans may have many wonderful attributes. Reliability, however, is not among them, according to the latest Consumer Reports reliability survey.
Small cars
These models earned ratings Most and Least reliable in Consumer Reports' 2004 reliability survey.
Most reliable Least reliable
Toyota Corolla Volkswagen Golf (turbo)
Scion xB Volkswagen Jetta (turbo)
Honda Civic Volkswagen New Beetle
Mazda3
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Echo
Mitsubishi Lancer (except Evo)
Source: Consumer Reports
Of the 11 sedans with the lowest predicted reliability, according to the survey, 10 were from European brands including Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and BMW. Most Volkswagen models were rated far below average for reliability. The all-wheel drive Volkswagen Passat received the lowest reliability rating of any vehicle in the survey.
A spokesman for Volkswagen of America did not deny that the company's products have had problems.
"We are obviously aware of some of these issues," he said.
The company has been working to track and correct reliability problems, he said, adding that customers should see results in upcoming redesigned 2005 versions of several of its cars.
Of the 32 car models with the highest reliability ratings, 29 were from Japan-based manufacturers. Toyota, with 16, and Honda, with 7, had the most vehicles with top reliability ratings. South Korean automaker Hyundai's Sonata earned a top spot in the ratings this year, a first for that manufacturer.
The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic gas/electric hybrid cars both were both listed among the most reliable vehicles.
The only cars from an American manufacturer to earn top scores were the Buick Regal, which has been discontinued for 2005, and non-supercharged versions of the Pontiac Grand Prix.
Among SUVs, Japanese brands monopolized the top spots. The Toyota Land Cruiser and Mitsubishi Endeavor were among the most reliable, according to the survey
Sedans
These models earned ratings Most and Least reliable in Consumer Reports' 2004 reliability survey.
Most reliable Least reliable
Lexus IS300 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Acura RL (previous version) Jaguar S-Type
Toyota Camry (4-cyl.) BMW 7 Series
Toyota Avalon Jaguar X-Type
Lexus LS430 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Lexus GS300/GS430 (previous versions) Mercedes-Benz C-Class (V6)
Buick Regal (discontinued) Volvo S60 (AWD)
Pontiac Grand Prix Saab 9-3
Hyundai Sonata Pontiac Grand Prix (supercharged)
Infiniti G35 (AWD) Volkswagen Passat (AWD)
BMW 5 Series
Source: Consumer Reports
The Toyota Tundra was the only pick-up truck to earn a top rating in the survey. The new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks both scored above-average. The redesigned Ford F-150, which had been among that company's most reliable products, slipped in the ratings this year.
The survey included responses from the owners of 810,000 vehicles. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2004 and covered 1997 to 2004 models. The ratings are based on the number of problems per 100 vehicles in the survey.
The reliability ratings form part of the data used to determine which models are recommended by Consumer Reports. Other factors include government crash and rollover tests and performance in Consumer Reports' own auto tests.
madf
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I am glad to see that Hyundai is making it up the rankings of reliability having just bought a Trajet. Certainly happy with it so far, but it is only 2 months and 1850 miles old. However, it will be going from Manchester to London four times in the next two months, having just done its shakedown cruise. Its getting smoother and more economical.
Also glad to see that Volvo is missing from the unreliable list. Have a soft spot for them and having sold my S80 2.9 to buy the Hyundai for SWMBO, I think I will replace her CRV with another S80 - this time the D5.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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VW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar & Land Rover are all seeing a sharp reduction in sales and reports like this one are the reason.
Seems that the US consumer is more informed than a European one ?
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It's depressing. I live in the US and I'd like to buy a Dodge 300 Magnum 5.7 - it's fast, looks great, has rear drive, and is an estate so it's very practical for carrying stuff. What puts me off is the potential unreliability. So it'll probably be a new Acura RL. Jap cars certainly seem to always beat everyone else in these surveys.
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Interesting that the Pontiac Grand Prix non-supercharged gets listed as one of the most reliable, yet the supercharged version is one of the least reliable. Can there really be that much difference between the two cars?
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"Can there really be that much difference between the two cars?"
Maybe in the way they are driven?
madf
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Supercharger is likely to put a lot of additional load on the drivetrain and chassis - so yes, it could make quite a difference to reliability.
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If the Japanese manufacturers could improve on the depressingly bland interiors they install, I have no doubt they'd have a monopoly. The Toyota Previa is the most reliable MPV, but I didn't buy one because the terrible grey plastics and dull dull dull instrumentation would drive me to sell the thing long before it developed any problems.
The likes of Honda/Toyota should inject some quality and interest into the dashboards. That's what the driver has to live with.
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Also there's market sectors the Japanese seem to be missing, at least at the moment. When I looked to replace my car recently the What Car group test compared Focus/Golf/Volvo and BMW 1.
Presumably they thought Avensis/Corolla and Accord/Civic straddled this middle ground, which is what I found when looking at them.
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Also there's market sectors the Japanese seem to be missing, at least at the moment. When I looked to replace my car recently the What Car group test compared Focus/Golf/Volvo and BMW 1. Presumably they thought Avensis/Corolla and Accord/Civic straddled this middle ground, which is what I found when looking at them.
If I'm looking at the same test as you (What Car Sept 04) it was Audi A3 (not Focus)/Golf/Volvo/BMW1. The versions they looked at were £18-20K, ie not the ones Mr & Mrs Average would buy.
I don't think the Japanese are missing the sector, Corolla/Civic would compare size wise, but the price of the cars tested was at the Avensis/Accord level (and towards the top end, at that).
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You're quite right. I'd mentally merged the June Mazda3/Focus/Golf/Astra test with the September one you say, and the presence of the Mazda in that one rather undermines my point.
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I'm in Northern California on a secondment at the moment and have just swapped a Chevrolet Impala for a Pontiac Grands Prix Supercharged as my company runabout. The Pontiac is brand new but feels like it's about to fall apart. Actually, all US Sedans feel like that (even the Cadillacs I have driven), but as well as the usual lack of torsional stiffness and depressingly cheap fixtures and fittings, this one has uncharacteristically hard suspension which is less than ideal on the potholed roads around Silicon Valley and probably contributes significantly to wear on the components. If I were to live here full time, I'd do what most people here do and get a SUV, probably one of those sleek Lexus or Infiniti things that haven't made it across the pond yet.
It's interesting that people here still perceive European cars as the ultimate in luxury, especially Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar and Porsche. Despite its better reliability, Lexus is still looked down on by people who can afford "better" (note the inverted commas). I don't know whether this is true of the whole of the USA or just this rather moneyed part of California.
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No sign of any French cars, though. Oh, hang on a minute...
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The French brands got the message and took their cars home.
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I recently saw a 1980s Citroen CX 2.5 GTI during the morning rush on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Couldn't believe my eyes.
But you're right, Citroen don't seem to want to sell C5's to the yanks. Wonder why?
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Isn't the Honda Civic made in Swindon?
(and I've a feeling that some of those Toyota models are made in Derby)
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Yeah, Hondas and Toyotas are made in the UK, but they have both got factories all over the world. The ones on sale in the US are probably manufactured in the US. Some of the Hondas on sale in the UK are American made, and even though the hatchback Corolla is British made, the saloon version is Turkish!
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Most of the US Hondas are manufactured in the US. However, the civic Si looks very different to the normal US civic. This one comes from Swindon.
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You do have to give American motoring reports some credit as they do have the largest range of cars available.
To be consider unreliable with the driving conditions in the US is a big problem ie. making a car designed for serene cruising.
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The question is though, how unreliable is "unreliable" in this context? How many faults per 100 cars, and what kind of faults?
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> Citroen don't seem to want to sell C5's to the yanks. Wonder why?
Only partly because of quality concerns. When the French (and Italians) gave up trying to sell cars in America, the kinds of complaints made about them had more to do with utterly inadequate parts distribution networks. That said, the same report quoted in this thread concluded (way back in the 80s, if I recall correctly) that the Escort was a more solid and reliable vehicle than the French offerings. I guess you would find out how bad the distribution network is if parts always falling off your car.
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Would you trust your life driving through Death Valley (120F, no cars for 40 miles or so) in a C5 or any other Citroen?
You could guarantee something would break - the eircon for a start..
I would not.
madf
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And the funny thing is, nearly all car makers without exception (including Renault and Citroen) test their new cars in death valley.
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Would you trust your life driving through Death Valley (120F, no cars for 40 miles or so) in a C5 or any other Citroen? You could guarantee something would break - the eircon for a start.. I would not. madf
Makes you wonder how they won the World Rally Championship with all those breakdowns they must of suffered. Perhaps all of the other cars were handicapped in some way to give the poor old Citroen team a fair chance. They couldn't possibly have won on merit!
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Makes you wonder how they won the World Rally Championship with all those breakdowns they must of suffered. Perhaps all of the other cars were handicapped in some way to give the poor old Citroen team a fair chance. They couldn't possibly have won on merit!
When they start selling the WRC cars to the general public THEN I'll consider buying Citroen.
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Yes but a million plus for a citroen is a tad steep. does it come with 1 years free insurance? and no vat?
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WRC and road cars are as related to each other as Formula One is to racing cars and passing:-)
madf
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