Lexus, Toyota, Buick top new auto-reliability survey

Associated Press

DETROIT

Lexus, Toyota and Buick are the most reliable brands in Consumer Reports’ latest survey, a reward for their conservative approach to new technology.

It’s the fourth-straight year that Lexus came in first and Toyota came in second. Two of their hybrids – the Toyota Prius and the Lexus CT 200H – were named the most reliable vehicles. But Buick – General Motors Co.’s near-luxury marque – is the first domestic brand to crack the top three since the magazine began tracking vehicle reliability in the early 1980s.

Audi and Kia rounded out the top five brands. Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and Ram – all owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – were the worst performers. Electric car maker Tesla Motors also fared poorly.

The magazine released its annual reliability survey Monday. It’s closely watched by the industry, since many buyers look to the magazine for recommendations.

Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of 2017 model-year brands and individual vehicles based on survey responses from its subscribers. The magazine collected subscribers’ comments on vehicles they own from the 2000-2017 model years. Around 500,000 subscribers responded to this year’s survey.

Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing, said the best performers have something in common: They tend to add new technology slowly, and bit-by-bit, rather than all at once.

Fisher said GM has been improving its cars and small SUVs for several years now. The Chevrolet Cruze was the top-performing small car in the survey, while the Chevrolet Trax was the top-performing small SUV. But the company continues to struggle with pickups and larger truck-based SUVs, which gets low marks for steering and suspension issues.

The Cadillac Escalade large SUV is the worst performing vehicle in the magazine’s survey due to its combination of transmission problems and its difficult-to-use infotainment system.