Audi Takes #1 in Consumer Reports Reliability/Performance Ranking
02-23-16, 12:05 PM
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Audi Takes #1 in Consumer Reports Reliability/Performance Ranking
Yikes at FCA, good for Audi! And still quite a solid showing for Lexus. 
http://www.autonews.com/article/2016...autonews-blast
Originally Posted by AutoNews
Audi, in the midst of a scandal over parent company Volkswagen AG’s diesel engines, took the top spot in Consumer Reports’ latest annual report card on brand reliability and performance.
Audi, which finished with a score of 80, overtook Lexus, which dropped to third place after finishing first the previous three years. Subaru finished second with 78 points and supplanted Mazda as the highest-ranked non-luxury brand.
The influential magazine, which has compiled its brand report card for nine consecutive years, said Audi and VW vehicles that have been pulled from dealerships due to diesel emissions violations are not included in scoring. The VW brand finished 15th for the second straight year with 67 points, up from 60 points in 2015.
“The rankings do not account for corporate practices or brand perceptions, and despite Audi’s score, Consumer Reports strongly believes that Volkswagen AG … should be held accountable for manipulating emissions testing with its vehicles,” the publication said in a statement.
Consumer Reports compiles the overall brand scores using road-test performance for models it tested, in addition to reliability results for each model. It then averages the scores of those models to rank each brand.
Several brands were not included in this year’s results, including Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati, Ram, Smart and Tesla, since Consumer Reports tested fewer than two vehicles from each brand.
The magazine said it also changed the way it calculated 2016 scores, negating easy comparisons to results in 2015 and previous years.
Nine of the 10 top brands are foreign, with General Motors’ Buick brand the top domestic brand, in 7th place with an overall score of 74 points.
Most domestic brands from GM and Ford Motor Co. -- dogged by what the magazine called “inconsistent reliability scores” -- finished in the middle of the pack.
Fiat Chrysler brands finished near the bottom of the rankings. Two of its brands, Fiat and Jeep, finished in the bottom two spots for the second consecutive year, while Chrysler finished 26th out of 30 with 58 points and Dodge finished 25th also with 58 points.
“We respect Consumer Reports’ opinion, as they’re one of the many third-party evaluators we receive comments from,” said Matt Liddane, FCA North America vice president of quality, in a statement. “We encourage customers to experience our vehicles for themselves. We continue to aggressively pursue both product and launch-quality improvements as they are top priorities for the company and our internal measurements are showing progress.”
Fiat finished last with 38 points, while Jeep was 29th with 43 points.
German luxury brands Porsche and BMW finished in the top five, while Mazda, Toyota, Kia and Honda finished in the top 10. Mazda fell from second to sixth, while Toyota fell from third to eighth.
Each entry in the top 10 finished in the top 10 in 2015.
Acura, which finished No. 2 in 2014 and No. 11 in 2015, fell to 19th in the rankings with an overall score of 64. Infiniti finished 22nd with a 63 overall score after finishing No. 8 in 2014 and No. 17 in 2015.
The biggest year-over-year gains included Ford, which rose from 24th place to 16th and a 66 score, and Mercedes-Benz, which rose from 21st place to 14th and a 67 score.
Best in key segments
Consumer Reports also today revealed its latest top picks in key segments.
The redesigned Ford F-150 was named best pickup for the first time since 1999 and giving the brand its first top pick since 2012.
“By eschewing traditional steel body panels, Ford created a pickup that weighs less, enabling it to be quick off the line and fuel-efficient,” the magazine said.
The F-150 and the Chevrolet Impala, winner of the large car category for the second straight year, were the only winners among domestic brands.
The Toyota Camry won its fifth top pick in 20 years in the midsize car category, while the Toyota Sienna nabbed the top minivan honor from the Honda Odyssey.
Subaru also received two top picks, with the Impreza and Forester winning the compact car and small SUV categories for at least the third consecutive year.
The Kia Sorento was named top midsize SUV, replacing the Toyota Highlander, while the Lexus RX was given the top luxury SUV pick.
“Lexus created the luxury crossover segment almost 20 years ago, and its dominance hasn’t diminished since,” the magazine said.
The Mazda MX-5 was named top sports car, while the Honda Fit was selected top subcompact car.
Audi, which finished with a score of 80, overtook Lexus, which dropped to third place after finishing first the previous three years. Subaru finished second with 78 points and supplanted Mazda as the highest-ranked non-luxury brand.
The influential magazine, which has compiled its brand report card for nine consecutive years, said Audi and VW vehicles that have been pulled from dealerships due to diesel emissions violations are not included in scoring. The VW brand finished 15th for the second straight year with 67 points, up from 60 points in 2015.
“The rankings do not account for corporate practices or brand perceptions, and despite Audi’s score, Consumer Reports strongly believes that Volkswagen AG … should be held accountable for manipulating emissions testing with its vehicles,” the publication said in a statement.
Consumer Reports compiles the overall brand scores using road-test performance for models it tested, in addition to reliability results for each model. It then averages the scores of those models to rank each brand.
Several brands were not included in this year’s results, including Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati, Ram, Smart and Tesla, since Consumer Reports tested fewer than two vehicles from each brand.
The magazine said it also changed the way it calculated 2016 scores, negating easy comparisons to results in 2015 and previous years.
Nine of the 10 top brands are foreign, with General Motors’ Buick brand the top domestic brand, in 7th place with an overall score of 74 points.
Most domestic brands from GM and Ford Motor Co. -- dogged by what the magazine called “inconsistent reliability scores” -- finished in the middle of the pack.
Fiat Chrysler brands finished near the bottom of the rankings. Two of its brands, Fiat and Jeep, finished in the bottom two spots for the second consecutive year, while Chrysler finished 26th out of 30 with 58 points and Dodge finished 25th also with 58 points.
“We respect Consumer Reports’ opinion, as they’re one of the many third-party evaluators we receive comments from,” said Matt Liddane, FCA North America vice president of quality, in a statement. “We encourage customers to experience our vehicles for themselves. We continue to aggressively pursue both product and launch-quality improvements as they are top priorities for the company and our internal measurements are showing progress.”
Fiat finished last with 38 points, while Jeep was 29th with 43 points.
German luxury brands Porsche and BMW finished in the top five, while Mazda, Toyota, Kia and Honda finished in the top 10. Mazda fell from second to sixth, while Toyota fell from third to eighth.
Each entry in the top 10 finished in the top 10 in 2015.
Acura, which finished No. 2 in 2014 and No. 11 in 2015, fell to 19th in the rankings with an overall score of 64. Infiniti finished 22nd with a 63 overall score after finishing No. 8 in 2014 and No. 17 in 2015.
The biggest year-over-year gains included Ford, which rose from 24th place to 16th and a 66 score, and Mercedes-Benz, which rose from 21st place to 14th and a 67 score.
Best in key segments
Consumer Reports also today revealed its latest top picks in key segments.
The redesigned Ford F-150 was named best pickup for the first time since 1999 and giving the brand its first top pick since 2012.
“By eschewing traditional steel body panels, Ford created a pickup that weighs less, enabling it to be quick off the line and fuel-efficient,” the magazine said.
The F-150 and the Chevrolet Impala, winner of the large car category for the second straight year, were the only winners among domestic brands.
The Toyota Camry won its fifth top pick in 20 years in the midsize car category, while the Toyota Sienna nabbed the top minivan honor from the Honda Odyssey.
Subaru also received two top picks, with the Impreza and Forester winning the compact car and small SUV categories for at least the third consecutive year.
The Kia Sorento was named top midsize SUV, replacing the Toyota Highlander, while the Lexus RX was given the top luxury SUV pick.
“Lexus created the luxury crossover segment almost 20 years ago, and its dominance hasn’t diminished since,” the magazine said.
The Mazda MX-5 was named top sports car, while the Honda Fit was selected top subcompact car.
Last edited by TangoRed; 02-23-16 at 12:14 PM.
02-23-16, 12:48 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Once again (as for the last several years), Buick is the top domestic nameplate, both in reliability and road-test-score. Using Opel products for several of their platforms has really paid off. Cadillac, though, clearly needs more work.
Audi has also been very impressive. Last year they ranked #3 in reliability (behind Toyota and Lexus)...now on top. Some of that might change next year, though, as the results of the diesel-scandal spread and customers either can't buy the Audi diesels they want in the American market or have to have the existing ones re-programmed.
Subaru is probably no surprise.....they have been at or near the top for years, though some recent 2.5L engines have had an oil-consumption issue. The biggest surprise, IMO, is Honda and Acura, considering that they come out of the factory precisely-assembled like Swiss watches. Apparantly, the longer-term durability of some of those Swiss-Watch-precision-assembled components seems to be slipping.
I suspect what is dragging Jeep down at the bottom are the unimpressive Compass/Patriot, which still have a lot of the old slipshod Chrysler workmanship and design in them, and the newer Renegade, which is a redone Fiat 500X with a different body/interior. I was not impressed at all with the Renegade I reviewed...IMO it was cheap and flimsy inside and out. The Fiat 500L (which is a lower-stance, FWD 500X), also was not very well-built.
(CR, for some reason, forgot to mention Fiat in the ranks there.....even in the notes at the bottom, though it does mention Alfa).
Audi has also been very impressive. Last year they ranked #3 in reliability (behind Toyota and Lexus)...now on top. Some of that might change next year, though, as the results of the diesel-scandal spread and customers either can't buy the Audi diesels they want in the American market or have to have the existing ones re-programmed.
Subaru is probably no surprise.....they have been at or near the top for years, though some recent 2.5L engines have had an oil-consumption issue. The biggest surprise, IMO, is Honda and Acura, considering that they come out of the factory precisely-assembled like Swiss watches. Apparantly, the longer-term durability of some of those Swiss-Watch-precision-assembled components seems to be slipping.
I suspect what is dragging Jeep down at the bottom are the unimpressive Compass/Patriot, which still have a lot of the old slipshod Chrysler workmanship and design in them, and the newer Renegade, which is a redone Fiat 500X with a different body/interior. I was not impressed at all with the Renegade I reviewed...IMO it was cheap and flimsy inside and out. The Fiat 500L (which is a lower-stance, FWD 500X), also was not very well-built.
(CR, for some reason, forgot to mention Fiat in the ranks there.....even in the notes at the bottom, though it does mention Alfa).
Last edited by mmarshall; 02-23-16 at 01:45 PM.
02-23-16, 01:29 PM
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I call Subaru reliability rank BS. Ask around, they fix their "fault" for free as one-time fix courtesy customers, so it's not counted toward reliability score. They "one time fix" my 15 WRX many times and even blame me for some of the failures, but they still fix all of them. I can't say about other brands, but I have first hand experience with Subaru. No more Subaru.
02-23-16, 01:43 PM
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I really dislike this "overall score" ranking of Consumer Reports. Why can't they just list the road test and reliability scores as they are and let consumers decide which score weighs more in their minds?
Below is the complete ranking with reliability ratings included, taken from the official site. As can be seen Lexus and Toyota manage the best reliability scores despite lousy road test scores. You simply do not average the scores together and call it an overall score as they don't necessarily carry the same weight for everyone.
By the way I think it's really alarming that even Hyundai and Kia are beating Lexus in road tests. Lexus really needs to stop cheapening out and start seriously upping its game.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/...best-vehicles/
Below is the complete ranking with reliability ratings included, taken from the official site. As can be seen Lexus and Toyota manage the best reliability scores despite lousy road test scores. You simply do not average the scores together and call it an overall score as they don't necessarily carry the same weight for everyone.
By the way I think it's really alarming that even Hyundai and Kia are beating Lexus in road tests. Lexus really needs to stop cheapening out and start seriously upping its game.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/...best-vehicles/
Last edited by ydooby; 02-23-16 at 01:52 PM.
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02-23-16, 01:49 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
I call Subaru reliability rank BS. Ask around, they fix their "fault" for free as one-time fix courtesy customers, so it's not counted toward reliability score. They "one time fix" my 15 WRX many times and even blame me for some of the failures, but they still fix all of them. I can't say about other brands, but I have first hand experience with Subaru. No more Subaru.
The WRX and STi, BTW, are two general exceptions to above-average Subaru reliability....CR mentions that, but not in this article.
02-23-16, 01:57 PM
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Subarus don't necessarily have the most reliable engines, but, other than that, seem to be virtually bulletproof....which is remarkable considering that everything they sell in the U.S. market, except the BR-Z sports-coupe, has the added complexity of AWD. Subie, though, has a reputation for doing simple, reliable Symmetrical AWD....with fewer moving parts than competing systems.
The WRX and STi, BTW, are two general exceptions to above-average Subaru reliability....CR mentions that, but not in this article.
The WRX and STi, BTW, are two general exceptions to above-average Subaru reliability....CR mentions that, but not in this article.
02-23-16, 02:03 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Average Fit and Finish, unreliable electrical system (fuse blown up twice for no reason), weak clutch, throw out bearing. Owning first model year make experience even worse. AWD is less complicated because they don't have limited slip coupled with sophisticated AWD anymore. It's all about fuel saving, so less complicated less component AWD system is the way to go. Yes. it's bulletproof when we get past those little things.
02-23-16, 02:11 PM
#12
Lexus Champion
Subarus don't necessarily have the most reliable engines, but, other than that, the majority of their vehicles seem to be virtually bulletproof....which is remarkable considering that everything they sell in the U.S. market, except the BR-Z sports-coupe, has the added complexity of AWD. Subie, though, has a reputation for doing simple, reliable Symmetrical AWD....with fewer moving parts than competing systems.
The WRX and STi, BTW, are two general exceptions to above-average Subaru reliability....CR mentions that, but not in this article.
The WRX and STi, BTW, are two general exceptions to above-average Subaru reliability....CR mentions that, but not in this article.
Nov 2015. In case you needed a reminder, Subaru is hot. The Japanese all-wheel-drive specialist is doing so well that it broke its 12-month sales record in just 11 months. That's great, but even more impressive is that this is the company's seventh successive record-breaking year and its eighth year of overall growth.
Through November, the bulk of Subaru's sales came from its strong crossover lineup – the Forester, Outback, and XV Crosstrek accounted for 350,000 of the company's 513,000-plus sales. As for the Impreza, Legacy, and high-performance WRX/STI, there were also "significant year-to-date increases," according the company's official release.
Through November, the bulk of Subaru's sales came from its strong crossover lineup – the Forester, Outback, and XV Crosstrek accounted for 350,000 of the company's 513,000-plus sales. As for the Impreza, Legacy, and high-performance WRX/STI, there were also "significant year-to-date increases," according the company's official release.
02-23-16, 02:25 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
They were #3 last year....right behind Toyota and Lexus.
Are you getting the newer Audis in trade-in? They are the ones that are doing so well in the reliability ratings, not older ones. Most likely, you aren't getting the 1-3 year old Audis that have shown such a good improvement in reliability (many of them, of course, are still under lease). I suspect, though, that the diesel-scandal will show more bite against the brand for next-year's rating than with this one.
I sell cars. We get lots of Audi traded in for Lexus. Number 1 reason, owners tired of running to the shop to fix this or that. Something is wrong.
02-23-16, 02:56 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
No doubt. And wasn't very long ago that Audis were still known as money-pits when the warranty and/or free-servce expired. But things can, and do, change. Hyundai and Kia both proved that.