Best / Worst Car Brands

[James Westfall]

Still using toilet paper to inform your car buying decisions?

Not a great idea.

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[Left Field]

If you look at the number of major innovations pioneered and perfected by BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes, you really have to take your hats off to the Germans. They have engineered a lot of amazing stuff, including ABS and anti-skid technology on motorcycles (which all the other manufacturers ridiculed for years until they were able to copy it.)

Not to disparage the many contributions brought by German automotive engineers. I only knew about early ABS as we had a 1971 Imperial in the family - in the mid 90's lol.

The Bosch system on my motorcyle is nothing short of impressive however.

From Hagerty:
The “holy grail” of automotive anti-skid technology was to also prevent the front wheels from locking up in order to maintain steering control during a full-brake panic stop. That’s exactly what the Sure-Brake system for Chrysler’s 1971 Imperial offered, despite a long-standing claim by Mercedes-Benz that its Bosch ABS system was the first electronically controlled four-wheel anti-skid system to reach production (1978 in Europe).

The Mercedes system probably had an advantage with more modern digital controls, but the Imperial’s Sure-Brake system, developed by Bendix, proved effective. The Sure-Brake option cost $351.50 on the 1971 Imperial, which started at just over $6,000. The option cost was reduced to $344 for ’72 and ’73.

LF

 

[Kbinspections]

My BMW 7 series was the best driving sedan I ever owned. Luxury to the max, fast and drove like a sports sedan!
At the same time, stupidly over engineered, ridiculously priced parts, impossible to work on as a shade tree mechanic.
Fell apart at 100,000 miles and died with a blown head gasket.
Maybe cars are just built to get thru the original lease agreement….

 

[F4Flyer]

Seems like a pretty accurate list. Not planning on buying a new vehicle yet since I have my older and consequently paid-off, Toyota and Mercedes as well as the JL (payments on this) but CS's ratings are pretty solid.

 

[Dusty Dude]

Seems like a pretty accurate list. Not planning on buying a new vehicle yet since I have my older and consequently paid-off, Toyota and Mercedes as well as the JL (payments on this) but CS's ratings are pretty solid.

……

The National Enquirer has more accurate reporting. Anyone who tells you a Hyundai is better than a Tesla is a political hack. Tesla’s ratings only dropped because of politics.

Full disclaimer: I am not a fan of EV’s in general, and I personally would never buy one after being on a research team for a number of years. That being said, Tesla makes a good product.

 

[Gangplank]

……

The National Enquirer has more accurate reporting. Anyone who tells you a Hyundai is better than a Tesla is a political hack. Tesla’s ratings only dropped because of politics.

Full disclaimer: I am not a fan of EV’s in general, and I personally would never buy one after being on a research team for a number of years. That being said, Tesla makes a good product.

Tesla makes a below average product in terms of reliability. It gained market share because it was supported by govt tax incentives. Looks sleek & drives nice but personally I’d take a BMW over a Tesla any day.

• U.S. report (J.D. Power):
  The 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study showed an improvement for the Tesla brand, with a lower number of problems per 100 vehicles (209 PP100) compared to the previous year.
  
  • Context: This score was still slightly below the overall industry average of 202 PP100.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I see way more Jeeps and Mopar products on the road than BMW and Mercedes.

Maybe it’s because I live in Redneckistan…

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

I see way more Jeeps and Mopar products on the road than BMW and Mercedes.

Maybe it’s because I live in Redneckistan…

I think statistically speaking that is accurate anywhere. BMW and Mercedes are both still comparatively low volume brands given their premium positioning and pricing.

 

[Whaler27]

CR has always hated on US made vehicles and especially Jeeps! If you are uber wealthy then go for BMW. However most Jeep owners are not and we enjoy being able to repair our vehicles.
IMHO all reviews are bought!

The price difference between Jeep and BMW has narrowed a LOT over the last thirty years. When we bought my wife’s Grand Cherokee 4xe a couple years ago, the Monroni price was actually higher than the comparable BMW X5 PHEV. The Jeep had a couple more options, like a passenger video display (and who cares?), but the BMW had 30% or 40% more electric range. We ultimately decided to buy the Jeep because the drive was good, our experience with our diesel Grand Cherokee was great, the BMW wasn’t eligible for the $7500 tax credit, and we didn’t want the visibility/stigma of driving a “luxury brand”. (I don’t care what people I don’t know think about our vehicles, but I DO prefer to be less conspicuous.)

 

[Riverjeep]

According to Consumer Reports Jeep stand out as the top…. umm…. Bottom of the list. Consumer Reports Best & Worst Top 10 List

Best car brands in 2026
In ascending order, these are the best car brands, per Consumer Reports.

1. Subaru
2. BMW
3. Porsche
4. Honda
5. Toyota
6. Lexus
7. Lincoln
8. Hyundai
9. Acura
10. Tesla

Worst car brands in 2026
In descending order, these are the worst car brands, per Consumer Reports.

1. Jeep
2. Land Rover
3. GMC
4. Dodge
5. Alfa Romeo
6. Rivian
7. Chrysler
8. Chevrolet
9. Mercedes-Benz
10. Volkswagen

Let's face it Jeep has got a lot of substandard vehicles one of the worst coming to mind is the 4xE. But, compare that to Lexus & Toyota, most everything they sell is top notch. My point is I always hate to see these lists group everything a manufacturer makes into one category, with some of Jeep's junk it's no wonder it is top of the bad list!

 

[F4Flyer]

……

The National Enquirer has more accurate reporting. Anyone who tells you a Hyundai is better than a Tesla is a political hack. Tesla’s ratings only dropped because of politics.

Full disclaimer: I am not a fan of EV’s in general, and I personally would never buy one after being on a research team for a number of years. That being said, Tesla makes a good product.

I have been using CR for over a decade and they have generally been spot on. From power tool, to vehicles (except the Jeep but we all know that no Jeep product will be as reliable as a Toyota, Honda, Subaru, etc....we buy the Wrangler for reasons most would not) to washing machines (I have a 20-year-old set that is still great) I will consider their views, reviews, and get info from people I know if buying something relatively pricey.

Tesla does not make a good product if you want to keep it over the long haul. They are great the first few years- 3-4. Hyundais are far more reliable in general, though I don't own one (Toyota guy here). As far as EVs go, the BMW and Mercedes EVs are being rated much higher than Tesla. That is what we will target when buying a new vehicle but I really do want rooftop solar first. Tesla, as a car company, is now on very shaky ground though. Not worth it. Two of our friends are trading them (under 2 years old) as well but they mainly don't want to deal with the people flipping them off and one got vandalized, sadly.

 

[dstevens]

I do not like the methodology that consumer reports uses. The rating is essentially is four components - road test, crash test results, predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

I don't have a problem with their road test, which is mostly objective. As other have pointed out, evaluating a Jeep as a car is not going to be kind on the Jeep.

But the predicted reliability and owner satisfaction both have massive selection bias because they rely on customer reports members to report both. This is only a small percentage of all owners. People only bother to fill in the reports if they either love or hate their vehicle.

There's also some sort of expectation bias at work; I'm not sure how many times I've read that toyotas are reliable but it sure is repeated a lot without presenting any evidence (disclaimer: own a toyota and consider it an appliance). Subaru owners love their cars. I think this is more of a characteristic of the owner than the car. It should not be part of an objective evaluation and comparison.

Kia/Hyandai/Nissian/Ford have all had CVTs or DCTs that self destruct at the drop of a hat yet they receive good ratings. But again, that is my feeling and there is a lack of hard evidence in the industry. Manufacturers are the only ones who know and they do not release the information.

Edit: just read VW was the least reliable vehicle. Just sold our VW after 13 years with only a stuck gas cap door as a problem.

 

[jadmt]

I have had 5 jeeps and 1 ram all bought new and never have I received an owner's satisfaction survey...from CR or JDpowers etc...I also bought a new mazda and no survey either..who are they surveying for owner's satisfaction reports? I will say up until my 24 jlur I would have given pretty good marks...on my Mazda it would get high marks for satisfaction...it was made about the same time frame as my jlur....i will also say on my jlur the second year satisfaction marks would be better than the first year as it was the first year I had the issues..been fine for over a year now......knock on wood....

 

[F4Flyer]

I have mainly owned Toyotas, but one Honda, a Subaru, a Suburban, an Expedition, a diesel RAM, and a diesel GM truck. The Suburban was iffy but the rest were pretty good. The Toyota outlasts pretty much everything without major issues...my 4Runner has 230K now. The Subaru I sold with 120K with no issues. The 4Runner, I suspect, will hit 300K with no major issues. The Mercedes has hit 130K with no issues (I did replace control arms and it drives like new again) but the newer ones have problematic electronics issues. I still tend to prefer Toyotas in general. I would prob buy no other Chrysler/Stellantis product except for the Wrangler.

CS does say the Wrangler drives like crap and is not very reliable. Yeah, compared to pretty much everything out there that people usually drive (SUV/cars) that is absolutely true. However, I bought it to explore trails and mining roads and whatever else and I like the off-road capability and I even like the vehicle, with all its rudimentary issues and quirks.

I'm trying to not buy any more brand new vehicles so I can help send my son to a good university, but maybe the stock market will shoot up and I can get one more new one.

 

[c20040215]

Forget about the CR report. People dont believe it anyways.

One good measuring stick is how many "My Jeep is reliable it has xx,xxx miles (or any 5 digit miles) trouble free" posts are there on the forum. They say it proudly.

That tells you how low the bar is.

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