Honda Vs Toyota: Which Brand Makes The Most Reliable Cars?

For new car shoppers, finding the right brand is very important. There are a lot of choices out there, and a common comparison is one between Honda and Toyota. The two Japanese auto companies are popular brands, and if you've been looking for a new car, there's a good chance you've seen these two brands pop up.

There are a lot of important factors that come into play when making a car purchase, both used and new. Reliability and dependability are a top priority for a lot of people. Nobody likes taking their car in for repairs or having to worry about something breaking down. Luckily, both Honda and Toyota have a lot of reliable options in each lineup for people who are looking. It's tough to go wrong with either of the brands, but there are some small things to look for that could end up pushing you one way or the other.

In order to get a clear picture, it's important to look at the comparable models. For the flagship economy cars, we'll look at the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. You can't really go wrong with either of these options: Looking at J.D. Power, the Civic comes in with an 80/100 score in quality and reliability.  However, the Corolla tops that with an 85/100 score, meaning it gets the edge there in points. That being said, the numbers are so close that it's almost negligible. The Civic does top the Corolla in overall score by a single point at 82, compared to 81.

Moving on to the crossover SUV market, we're going to look at how the Honda CR-V stacks up against the Toyota RAV4. The CR-V checks in with a score of 82 in reliability, and an 81 overall score according to J.D. Power. The RAV-4 has an 81 score in reliability, but it finishes a point ahead in overall score with an 82. Again, it's a negligible difference that could really just be a toss-up.

In pickup truck territory, we have the Toyota Tacoma pitted against the Honda Ridgeline. The Tacoma finishes with an 83 reliability score and an 82 overall from J.D. Power. The Ridgeline lags behind just a bit with an 80 in both reliability and overall score. At the end of the day, we see the Toyota offering take the slight victory in two of the three reliability comparisons.

While the Toyota models ever-so-slightly did reign supreme over the Honda ones, the scores are so close that it ultimately comes down to personal preference. With both brands being quite reliable for long-term vehicle ownership, you'll instead have to turn toward factors like cost and availability.

Both have excellent products available, so it's not like you can go wrong with any vehicle from both. Both manufacturers come with similar warranties on new models as well. A new Toyota boasts a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a six-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, while Honda drops it to a five-year powertrain warranty at the same mileage.

With the used car market beginning to balance out, picking up a pre-owned vehicle isn't a bad option either. Reliability ultimately means less repair costs, so you shouldn't have to be all that concerned about picking up a five-year-old model, even if it doesn't have particularly low mileage.