Most reliable cars
I am surprised by the Mercedes rating below.
Most reliable cars
Consumer Reports: Ford's new sedans shine in results, but Japanese still most reliable by far.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Ford Fusion midsized car and its Mercury Milan sibling scored big in Consumer Reports' annual new car reliability survey, just beating out the industry's quality standard-bearers, the Honda Accord V6 and Toyota Camry V6.
But, overall, Japanese brands are still the ones to beat. Of the 47 vehicles with the highest predicted reliability, 39 are Japanese. Of those, all but seven are made by Toyota or Honda.
Photos:Most and least reliable cars
American cars are continuing to improve in reliability, however, according to Consumer Reports' surveys.
The "predicted reliability" rankings appear in the 2007 New Car Preview issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
Six of the "Most Reliable" are from General Motors or Ford. Those are Ford's front-wheel-drive midsize sedans (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr), GM's new large non-luxury SUVs (Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon) and GM's Pontiac Vibe wagon. The Vibe is shares its basic shape and engineering with the Toyota Matrix, a nearly identical vehicle which also made the list.
No vehicles from DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group made the "Most Reliable" list.
Only one European car, the Mini Cooper, made the "Most Reliable" list. Of the "Least Reliable" cars, 19 of the 45 are European models.
Twenty of the "Least Reliable" vehicles or domestic models and just five, all from Nissan, are Japanese.
The difference between the "Most Reliable" and "Least Reliable" is striking, the magazine said, citing a comparison of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz M-class SUVs.
The owner of the M-class is likely to experience 10 times as many problems as the owner the Highlander Hybrid, the magazine said.
Hybrid vehicles have shown particularly good reliability, Consumer Reports said, although the Ford Escape dropped from "above average" to "average" predicted reliability for the 2007 model year. Other hybrid models, made by Toyota and Honda, have had excellent reliability, the magazine said.
Consumer Reports bases its reliability predictions in survey data from approximately 1.3 million vehicles owned by subscribers to its magazine and website.
Overall reliability scores for the most recent three years are averaged for each model. If the model has been redesigned or was newly introduced within that time, predictions are based on available data.
Most Reliable Small Car
Most reliable (Best score first)
Honda Fit (pictured)*
Toyota Yaris*
Honda Civic Hybrid*
Toyota Corolla
Least reliable (Worst score first)
Chevrolet Cobalt
2006 Nissan Sentra
Volkswagen Jetta (5 cyl.)
Chevrolet Aveo
Most Reliable Family Car
Most reliable (Best score first)
Honda Accord Hybrid (pictured)
Toyota Prius
Honda Accord (4-cyl.)
Ford Fusion*
Mercury Milan*
Least reliable
Volkswagen Passat (4 cyl.)*
Most Reliable Upscale/Large Car
Most reliable (Best score first)
Lexus ES350 (pictured)
Lincoln Zephyr*
Hyundai Azera*
Acura TSX
Acura TL
Least reliable (Worst score first)
Jaguar X-type
Chrysler 300 (V8)
Saab 9-3
Most Reliable Luxury Car
Most reliable (Best score first)
2006 Lexus LS (2007 model pictured)
Infiniti M*
Least reliable (Worst score first)
Cadillac STS (V8)
2006 Mercees-Benz S-class
Mercedes-Benz CLS*
Mercedes-Benz E-class sedan
BMW 7-series
Jaguar S-type
Most Reliable Sport/Sporty car
Most reliable (Best score first)
Lexus SC
Toyota Camry Solara (4-cyl.)
Subaru Impreza WRX
Honda S2000
Mitsubishi Eclipse*
2006 Mini Cooper hatchback
Least reliable (Worst score first)
Pontiac Solstice*
Mercedes-Benz S
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