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Toyota & Lexus Top Consumer Reports Reliability Survey, Again

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Consumer Reports has released its latest annual reliability survey and for the sixth year running, Lexus and Toyota topped the chart with little competition from other brands.

The survey reflects poorly upon American makes. The top American brand was Ford, and it ranked just 18th out of 29. Meanwhile the top four brands were Japanese and the fifth Korean.

If you follow industry trends, it won’t be a surprise to you to see Toyota — and Lexus, which is just Toyota’s luxury brand — at the top. Toyota has long been a leader in reliability in the automotive industry and with the Toyota Production System is not only the benchmark in car production but in the general manufacturing industry as well.


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However, do keep in mind that the reliability scores in this particular survey are speculative. Consumer Reports derived the predicted new-vehicle reliability ratings from the annual questionnaire it sends subscribers. It received data on more than 500,000 vehicles, including 300 different models, spanning from the 2000 to 2018 model years, and used this information to predict the reliability of the brands’ latest models.

According to the report, Toyota and Lexus have been able to dominate the reliability rankings because they have stuck to tried-and-true features and are taking more time to introduce new technologies. “The more the automakers put in that surprises and delights…the more chances they’re taking in terms of reliability,” said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ director of auto testing. “Sometimes not being the first, and sometimes taking your time, is paying off.”


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News Source: Consumer Reports