Yahoo Autos Most reliable cars ranked, EVs and PHEVs fare poorly
Consumer Reports reworked its methodology for deriving predicted reliability ratings, and updated the questions about problem areas to address issues specific to electrified and electric vehicles. The results still bear out clichés, such as: vehicles that have been on the market longer being generally more reliable; and sedans being generally more reliable than SUVs and trucks. There are exceptions, of course, like the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid scoring the lowest of any rated vehicle with a score of 14 on a 100-point scale, and the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid being among the most reliable vehicles in the survey. There's unwelcome news in the results for the fast-growing world of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, though: EVs suffer 79% more problems than ICE vehicles, and PHEVs are much worse with 146% more reliability issues than ICE vehicles.
Let's start with how the rankings were won. CR created problem categories ranging from mild (squeaks) to major (EV battery trouble), each category given a weighting. There were 12 potential problem areas specific to battery-electrics, there were 17 potential problem areas for ICE-powered vehicles, 19 for regular hybrids — the 17 ICE problems plus the electric motor and battery pack, and 20 potential problem areas for PHEVs — the 19 from regular hybrids plus EV charging.
CR polled its members about reliability issues over the past year, receiving responses on more than 330,000 vehicles from the 2020 to 2024 model years. Brands were scored on the "weighted overall problem rate for all models within a brand for each model year" combined with a brand's average result from the 2021 to 2023 or 2024 model year depending on how much info there was for 2024, combined with CR's owner satisfaction survey and CR's in-house testing and safety data. Thirty automaker brands made the final rank; CR couldn't get enough responses to include Romeo, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lucid, Maserati, Mitsubishi, or Polestar.
The new equation means this year's result can't be compared to previous reliability rankings.
