With two Japanese companies changing places from last year, exus, Toyota, and Mini are the three most dependable brands in this year's annual car reliability brand rankings.Following with the premium Acura brand ranking fourth and the mainstream Honda brand completing the top five is the carmaker Honda. See a complete brand comparison with our interactive tool by scrolling down.In this article:How reliable we score; how the regions compare; how hybrids up, how electric vehicles down?

Our Reliability Score: How do we do

CR asks its members annually about issues they have had with their vehicles during the past twelve months. With a few early-introduced 2024 model years, we compiled statistics on almost 330,000 automobiles spanning the 2000 to 2023 model years.

From nuisances like noisy brakes and damaged interior trim to big bummers like perhaps pricey out-of-warranty engine, gearbox, EV battery, and EV charging issues, we examine 20 trouble areas. We utilize such data to assign dependability scores for every big popular model.

We balance the seriousness of every kind of issue to provide, from 1 to 100, a projected dependability score for every car. We provide dependability ratings for every major popular car using that data. (To determine each test vehicle's Overall Score, the dependability rating is then coupled with data gathered from our track testing, as well as findings of our owner satisfaction survey and safety statistics.)

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This year we have tackled the fast expanding array of electrified products manufacturers are developing: hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and electric cars (EV). We therefore included three additional issue areas: electric motor, EV/hybrid battery, and EV charging:

Reliability Comparatively: How the Regions Perform

With an overall reliability average score of 63 for the area, on a scale of 1 to 100, Asian automakers are still dominating dependability by a great margin. Seven of the ten most dependable brands are from Asian manufacturers.

At 46, European manufacturers rank second; three brands account for the remaining top 10 most dependable names.

With an average score of 39, domestic brands lag both. Every domestic carmaker had at least one model with an average or better dependability rating; Buick's whole line-up earned average or better.

With an average dependability rating of 57 (on a scale of 0 to 100), ars—including sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons—remain the most dependable vehicle category; SUVs (50) and minivans (45 follow in second order. "Sedans have lost appeal to consumers, but as a class they are quite dependable," notes Senior Director of Auto Testing at Consumer Reports Jake Fisher. "They sometimes lack the most recent technologies and features that might lead to issues prior to bug fixes." With an average dependability rating of 41, pick-up trucks last.

Still Struggle Hybrids Soar and EVs

Interesting observations about the dependability of electrified vehicles this year. Hybrids cause 26 percent less issues overall than vehicles running internal combustion engines (ICE). Among the standouts are the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Lexus UX and NX Hybrid, and RAV4 Hybrid. Highlander Hybrid is another.

More of a mixed bag are plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs). They cause 146 percent more issues overall than ICE automobiles. Among PHEVs, some—like the below-average Audi Q5 and Chrysler Pacifica—are even less dependable than their traditional equivalents. On our study, the latter receives the lowest score—14.

Still, some PHEVs defy that tendency; standouts like the Toyota RAV4 Prime and Kia Sportage score well above average. Average dependability ratings go for the BMW X5, Hyundai Tucson, and Ford Escape PHEVs.

Read also: Electric Cars Vs Hybrid Cars

Comparison of Electrified Powertrains

With average dependability ratings of 44 and 43 respectively, electric vehicles and electric SUVs perform not very well. With an average score of 30, electric pickup trucks rank lowest among our vehicle-type ratings.

Some of them have issues with the EV drive system motors, EV charging systems, and EV batteries—which are distinct from the low-power 12-volt batteries that run accessories—as more EVs enter the market and manufacturers create each model in higher numbers. Owners of the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia Niro EV and EV6, Subaru Solterra, Toyota bZ4X, and Volkswagen ID all complained of some of these problems.

Among the top five brands, Lexus had just one model—the NX—that showed average expected dependability. Lead by the UX hybrid SUV, all of its other vehicles achieved above-average or higher dependability this year.

Most Toyota vehicles show above- or well-above-average dependability. Among the most dependable cars in the poll, the brand is topped by the 4Runner SUV. Still among the less dependable cars in the report is the brand's full-sized pickup truck, the Tundra.

While Acura's two newly remodeled vehicles, the MDX SUV and Integra sedan, come in at average, the RDX and TLX both have above-average dependability.