Making sense of vehicle Reliability/Durability rankings
Differences in rankings by different sources depend on what's being measured
Gerry MalloyPublished: March 8, 2016, 7:05 PM
Updated: March 14, 2016, 9:25 PM
Reliability/Durability rankings
Recent Consumer Reports and J.D. Power reports and studies present dramatically different results for many vehicles. ▲Different things measured
Consumer Reports and J.D. Power both recently released ratings and rankings of vehicle brands based on their reliability, durability and performance. But their ranking of brands is, for the most part, very different because they're measuring different things. As an example, Audi was #1 in Consumer Reports brand rankings but came only 11th in the J.D. Power study. ▲Consumer Reports
While Consumer Reports does rate vehicle reliability, the organization's annual brand report card also takes other factors into account. An aggregate overall score is based on a combination of road-test performance, reliability, safety performance, active safety aids and owner satisfaction. Those scores for each model of a given brand tested are averaged to determine an overall brand score. That average overall score is used to rank the car brands as an indicator of who makes the best cars. The rankings do not account for corporate practices or brand perceptions. Brands must have at least two models with test and reliability data to be included: Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati, Ram, Smart, and Tesla lacked sufficient data t be ranked. ▲J.D. Power
The J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, now in its 27th year, examined problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of 2013 model-year vehicles. Overall dependability was determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study covered 177 specific problem symptoms grouped into eight major vehicle categories. It encompassed not just component and system failures but difficulties in operation, such that the problems most often reported were related to Bluetooth pairing/connectivity, voice recognition systems and navigation systems. ▲Reconciling the differences
Given the differences in what these studies measure and their corresponding disparity in brand rankings, combined with seemingly conflicting advertising claims from manufacturers, it's no surprise that car shoppers might be confused. To help make sense of it all, we came up with a rating/ranking system that combined the results of the two, giving them equal weight. The highest scoring brand in each study got a score of 100; the scores for the rest were converted to a percentage of the top score; then the combined scores for each brand were averaged. Here are our rankings, from best to worst, showing our combined overall score as well as the J.D. Power (JDP) score – where lower is better – and Consumer Reports (CR) score – where higher is better. ▲#1 – Lexus
Overall Rank & Score: 1 – 97.5 JDP Rank – Score: 1 – 95 CR Rank – Score: 3 – 76 ▲#2 – Porsche
Overall Rank & Score: 2 – 96.5 JDP Rank – Score: 2 – 97 CR Rank – Score: 4 – 76 ▲#3 – Buick
Overall Rank & Score: 3 – 91.1 JDP Rank – Score: 3 – 106 CR Rank – Score: 7 – 74 ▲#4 – Toyota
Overall Rank & Score: 4 – 87 JDP Rank – Score: 4 – 113 CR Rank – Score: 3 – 76 ▲#5 – Audi
Overall Rank & Score: 5 – 85.4 JDP Rank – Score: 11 – 134 CR Rank – Score: 1 – 80 ▲#6 – Honda
Overall Rank & Score: 6 – 82.7 JDP Rank – Score: 7 – 126 CR Rank – Score: 10 – 72 ▲#7 – BMW
Overall Rank & Score: 7 – 81.0 JDP Rank – Score: 14 – 142 CR Rank – Score: 5 – 76 ▲#8 – Chevrolet.
Overall Rank & Score: 8 – 78.0 JDP Rank – Score: 6 – 125 CR Rank – Score: 20 – 64 ▲#9 – Subaru
Overall Rank & Score: 9 – 77.4 JDP Rank – Score: 23 – 166 CR Rank – Score: 2 – 78 ▲#10 – Mercedes-Benz
Overall Rank & Score: 10 – 77.1 JDP Rank – Score: 12 – 135 CR Rank – Score: 14 – 67 ▲#11 – GMC
Overall Rank & Score: 11 – 77.1 JDP Rank – Score: 5 – 120 CR Rank – Score: 24 – 60 ▲#12 – Acura
Overall Rank & Score: 12 – 76.8 JDP Rank – Score: 8 – 129 CR Rank – Score: 19 – 64 ▲#13 – Lincoln
Overall Rank & Score: 13 – 76.6 JDP Rank – Score: 10 – 132 CR Rank – Score: 16 – 65 ▲#14 – Kia
Overall Rank & Score: 14 – 76.0 JDP Rank – Score: 17 – 153 CR Rank – Score: 9 – 72 ▲#15 – Mazda
Overall Rank & Score: 15 – 75.4 JDP Rank – Score: 21 – 163 CR Rank – Score: 6 – 74 ▲#16 – Volvo
Overall Rank & Score: 16 – 74.4 JDP Rank – Score: 16 – 152 CR Rank – Score: 12 – 69 ▲#17 – Hyundai
Overall Rank & Score: 17 – 73.8 JDP Rank – Score: 19 – 158 CR Rank – Score: 11 – 70 ▲#18 – Infiniti
Overall Rank & Score: 18 – 73.3 JDP Rank – Score: 13 – 136 CR Rank – Score: 22 – 63 ▲#19 – Mini
Overall Rank & Score: 19 – 73.1 JDP Rank – Score: 18 – 155 CR Rank – Score: 13 – 68 ▲#20 – Volkswagen
Overall Rank & Score: 20 – 70.0 JDP Rank – Score: 25 – 169 CR Rank – Score: 15 – 67 ▲#21 – Scion
Overall Rank & Score: 21 – 69.1 JDP Rank – Score: 24 – 167 CR Rank – Score: 18 – 65 ▲#22 – Cadillac
Overall Rank & Score: 22 – 69.0 JDP Rank – Score: 15 – 145 CR Rank – Score: 24 – 69 ▲#23 – Nissan
Overall Rank & Score: 23 – 66.8 JDP Rank – Score: 27 – 173 CR Rank – Score: 21 – 63 ▲#24 – Chrysler
Overall Rank & Score: 24 – 65.0 JDP Rank – Score: 22 – 165 CR Rank – Score: 26 – 58 ▲#25 – Ford
Overall Rank & Score: 25 – 64.5 JDP Rank – Score: 31 – 204 CR Rank – Score: 16 – 66 ▲#26 – Mitsubishi
Overall Rank & Score: 26 – 61.4 JDP Rank – Score: 20 – 161 CR Rank – Score: 28 – 51 ▲#27 – Dodge
Overall Rank & Score: 27 – 59.1 JDP Rank – Score: 32 – 208 CR Rank – Score: 25 – 58 ▲#28 – Land Rover
Overall Rank & Score: 28 – 58.4 JDP Rank – Score: 29 – 198 CR Rank – Score: 27 – 58 ▲#29 – Jeep
Overall Rank & Score: 29 – 53.4 JDP Rank – Score: 28 – 181 CR Rank – Score: 29 – 43 ▲#30 – Fiat
Overall Rank & Score: 30 – 51.5 JDP Rank – Score: 26 – 171 CR Rank – Score: 30 – 38 ▲Not Ranked – Ram
Overall Rank & Score: NA JDP Rank – Score: 9 – 129 CR Rank – Score: NA ▲Not Ranked – Smart
Overall Rank & Score: NA JDP Rank – Score: 30 – 199 CR Rank – Score: NA ▲Recent Consumer Reports and J.D. Power studies and reports present dramatically different results for many vehicles.