When it comes to reliable cars, Toyota still reigns supreme, but it’s seeing the challengers to its eight-year run at the top draw nearer.
J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study once again ranked Toyota’s Lexus brand as the most reliable in the country, with the company’s namesake brand once again coming in second. You might want to give second thought to a Fiat and Land Rover, though, the worse and second-worst performing brands.
There were plenty of surprises in this year’s list, however. Porsche tied with Toyota for second place and won Power’s first award for the industry’s most dependable vehicle with the Porsche 911 sports car. Chrysler was the most-improved brand
And all of the major German auto manufacturers—Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi—showed improvements above the industry’s average for the first time in 30 years.
The Vehicle Dependability Study looks at cars that are three years old to determine how they’ve held up. And the 2016 batch did pretty good, showing a 4% collective improvement compared to 2015 vehicles last year.
“Vehicle dependability continues to improve, but I wouldn’t say that everything is rosy,” said Dave Sargent, vice president of Global Automotive at J.D. Power. “Vehicles are more reliable than ever, but automakers are wrestling with problems such as voice recognition, transmission shifts and battery failures.”
Chevrolet came in fourth in this year’s rankings, while Buick rounded out the top five. Ram, Dodge and ranked above Land Rover and Fiat, but were still among the five vehicles with the most problems per 100 vehicles last year.
