A New Car Brand Has Dethroned Toyota As Consumer Reports' Most Reliable

After years of Toyota and Lexus swapping places at the top of Consumer Reports' annual list of the year's most reliable automakers, a new car manufacturer has taken the number one spot: Subaru. Last year, Toyota was number one but has fallen to third, with Lexus in second position. The three automakers — all headquartered in Japan — are the only three with overall reliability scores of 60 or higher on Consumer Reports' scale of 0-100. Subaru's reliability score is 68, while Lexus is rated 65 and Toyota is rated 62.

Consumer Reports says that part of the reason for the shake-up is that Toyota's overall reliability score was affected by below-average performances from the Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, and the all-electric Toyota bZ4X SUV. For what it's worth, SlashGear found the Toyota GR Corolla Circuit to be a fantastic model to drive.

Meanwhile, the only model made by Subaru to underperform in reliability this year was the Solterra EV. Two of the automaker's models — the Impreza and Forester — had very high scores. "Subaru's cars share many reliable components," remarked Consumer Reports' Steven Elek. "This commonality means that when Subaru redesigns a vehicle, it can make fewer incremental changes by carrying over dependable systems. This reduces the risk of new problems."

Consumer Reports takes the reliability score of each individual model that is in a manufacturer's current lineup and then averages them for the annual brand score. This is why Toyota as a whole dropped to third when three of its brands underperformed. There have been several successful models in Subaru's history, and the strong reliability of the Forester and Impreza helped lift the brand's overall score this year. Following Toyota comes Honda, Acura, Mazda, Audi, BMW, Kia, and Hyundai to round out the top 10. The bottom five manufacturers on the Consumer Report's reliability list for 2024 were Rivian, Cadillac, GMC, Jeep, and Volkswagen, with Rivian earning the lowest reliability score of 14.

Consumer Reports only ranks an automaker if it has "sufficient data" for two or more of its models — that way, the reliability score can be considered, well, reliable. Reliability scores are based on problems reported by users in the previous 12 months and consider everything from squeaky brakes to serious engine issues. Data from hybrids and EVs is becoming more plentiful and is reflected in this year's list. Consumer Reports found a trend that newer brands such as these take a few years to work out the kinks before settling into a stronger reliability score, and suggests "it's best to wait a couple of years before buying an all-new model."

It will be interesting to see if Subaru can hold onto the top spot when Consumer Reports updates its list at the end of next year or if either Toyota or Lexus will reclaim the position. When SlashGear reviewed the 2025 Subaru WRX tS, we called the vehicle "sophisticated, smooth, and comfortable." Only time will tell if drivers also find it to be reliable.