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

 

the subaru forester is not a SUV in my book

 

Take all this in with a "grain of salt" most americans are lazy and stupid when it comes to preventive maintenance. Not picking on anyone just stated fact. I was at the Dodge dealership today and a man had purchased a new 1500 Dodge Ram Hemi. He put a huge snow plow on the front of his truck and proceeded to melt his hemi in a pile of molten goo! I saw the results. This is what happens when you are ignorant. The man was told NOT to put the plow on until WINTER it was The middle of AUGUST and 105 degrees outside! He of course blames Dodge and said he was gonna buy a real truck a chevy. I told him he should have done that in the first place! Another example, The other day a lady had her 2000 Dodge Caravan in and asked about synthetic oil, We told her yeah its the best but a little pricey. She said she still has the original oil in it!!!!I walked away!!

 

Agreed! In fact I'd suggest an amount of salt the size of Mt. Everest, but that still wouldn't be enough for CR's ratings! I'm sorry but CR is one of the most slanted magazines out there. The thing that amazes me is the Fusion and Milan are on the most reliable list and here's why. The 6-speed transmission in the Fusion/Milan is the exact same transmission used in the Camry and Avalon which has been found to have quite a bit of relibility issues. The V6 engine is nothing other than a Duratech with VVT added to it by Mazda. The Duratech has never been known as a benchmarker in terms of quality.

If you notice how the Chrysler 300C V8 model is listed as one of the most unreliable, the funny thing is if you look up the Magnum they list the V8 as being more reliable than the V6 model. Also I have done my own research and I haven't been hearing about any problems with the 300s.

Also another problem I'm having with these ratings are the Prius and death traps (other Hybrids) have been noted for having problems in CR's magazine as having the engines refuse to restart and having some break problems. Now if anything should be counted against a new car as being unreliable, that should be the number one thing, being stranded or in danger of being such.

Also if you look at their engine ratings for Chrysler minivans, you'll see that they give them a negative rating for the 3.3L & 3.8L. Both of those engines are bulletproof. I am yet to see a consistent problem with them. Other engines such as the 1997-2001 Toyota 3.0L that were known for having oil sludge problems, get a above average or excellent rating. That is full of it. I could go on all day about their inconsistences and inaccuracies. CR is good for one thing, lighting the fireplace on Thanksgiving!

 

Sad about CR because they are supposed to be totally unbiased.

 

Nobody is unbias, many that are supposed to be unbias are. I follow a system of reading what problems they are having by interviewing and reading reviews and other things which is too complicated and long to list for a lazy person such as myself that is tired of listing statistical data from my latest paper![:'(][:'(][:'(] Thank goodness that is over!

 

Glad your paper is over too, so we will see more of you here on the forum.

 

It should translate into that since my projects are practically done, no tests this week (thank goodness again), and my friend who was running for office no longer needs my help for another 1 1/2 years (he was elected). I've missed being on here. I always look forward to coming here.

 

Well, they got Mercedes attention.

Mercedes vs. Consumer Reports
The luxury carmaker is not happy with recent rankings that appeared in the 2007 New Car Preview.

By Alex Taylor III, Fortune senior editor
November 20 2006: 9:11 AM EST
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- There is an old saying in the newspaper business that you shouldn't pick a fight with somebody who buys ink by the gallon.

That hasn't stopped Mercedes-Benz from taking a few swipes at Consumer Reports over some very damaging reviews of Mercedes vehicles.

First some background: For the 2007 edition of its New Car Preview, Consumer Reports surveyed its six million subscribers about what serious problems they had with the cars they own. Some 1.3 million responded and the results weren't good for Mercedes-Benz.

Here's a brief blow-by-blow: In a listing of the least reliable luxury cars, based on 2006 models, three of the six cars are Mercedes: the old S-class (prior to the recent redesign), the CLS and the E-class Sedan.

Same thing in sport cars. Mercedes hogged three of the seven slots for least reliable: the SL, the CLK and the V6 SLK.

Among mid-sized SUVs, the M-class, a quality disaster when it first came out, still ranks as the least reliable in its grouping.

Other luxury manufacturers turn up on the least reliable list, with BMWs, Jaguars and Cadillacs sprinkled throughout.

But what is striking about Mercedes' performance is its consistency. Of the 11 models reviewed by Consumers, none are recommended. Seven are left off of the list because of poor reliability; the remaining four are considered too new to predict.

Mercedes has the worst record of any automaker with that many models. For a brand that claims to be "engineered like no other car in the world," that is fairly frightening.

"They understand the problems and they are fixing some of them, but they have a long way to come," says David Champion, director of automotive testing at Consumers.

For its part, a spokesman for Mercedes says that the data in the Consumer Reports rankings "is totally out of sync with what we're seeing in the mainstream research as well as our own customer satisfaction and warranty data." He points to the good marks Mercedes gets for ride, handling, comfort, safety and performance.

He may be whistling into a windstorm, though. "Car buyers pay a lot of attention to CR's ratings," says industry consultant George Peterson. "They perceive them as unbiased."

Research by Peterson's own firm, AutoPacific, substantiates CR's findings. Its 2006 Ideal Vehicle Awards show Mercedes not only ranking ninth out of ten among luxury brands but also lower than the top ten mainstream brands like Hyundai (Charts) and Subaru.

Quality problems have been a big issue at Mercedes for several years and the company keeps insisting It has a handle on them. But issues keep cropping up.

The JD Power Initial quality study for 2006 models, which measures defects identified by customers during the first 90 days of ownership, put Mercedes at 25th out of a field of 37 brands. That was well behind leaders like Porsche, Toyota's (Charts) Lexus, Jaguar, GM's (Charts) Cadillac and Infiniti, though still two notches ahead of BMW.

The Mercedes spokesman blames that low ranking on two major complaints: brake dust from the high performance brakes and problems with the new seven speed transmission, that he says have been repaired.

He adds: "As you're aware, the IQS included a new survey methodology by JD Power which goes well beyond the actual quality of the vehicles and into subjective measurement (an important distinction) of how customers feel about such things as the design, look and operation of features, controls and equipment."

Mercedes still makes superb automobiles - striking in design, sophisticated in engineering, exhilarating in performance. It attracts hugely loyal buyers and its

 

This isn't the first time they have been challenged and if CR loses, it won't be the first time. I enjoy it when people and companies take on the press. The press no matter which form has become too powerful and needs to be challenged. This is a rare occasion where I am routing for Mercedes. GO MB, beat up CR![sm=chairshot.gif][sm=shootshoot.gif]