Buick, First American Carmaker to Make Consumer Reports’ Top 3

For the first time since the inception in the 1980s of Consumer Reports’s annual list of most reliable vehicle brands, an American manufacturer attains the top 3. Buick trails only Lexus and Toyota to take the third position, climbing four spots from the previous year. No other American manufacturer comes close to Buick on the list: Chevrolet is next in 15th position, a climb of five places since 2015.

The very top of the ranking contained no surprises, as perennial frontrunner Toyota kept its top spot for the 10th consecutive year, followed by its luxury-car brand Lexus. With the industry average score as determined by Consumer Reports sitting between 40 and 60 points, Toyota earned a total of 86. Here are the top 10 most reliable brands according to Consumer Reports, with their respective scores in parentheses:

1. Toyota (86);
2. Lexus (78);
3. Buick (75);
4. Audi (71);
5. Kia (69);
6. Mazda (68);
7. Hyundai (66);
8. Infiniti (62);
9. BMW (57);
10. Honda (57).

The biggest climber on the list is Infiniti, which saw its ranking skyrocket 16 positions in comparison with the previous year. The biggest drop, meanwhile, belongs to Volkswagen, which fell nine places. As for those lagging at the bottom of the Consumer Reports list? Tesla, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and RAM sit in the 25th to 29th positions respectively.
When it comes to individual models, the top 10 most reliable vehicles are as follows:

1. Toyota Prius;
2. Lexus CT200h;
3. Infiniti Q70;
4. Audi Q3;
5. Lexus GX;
6. Lexus GS;
7. Mercedes-Benz GLC;
8. Chevrolet Cruze;
9. Audi Q7;
10. Toyota 4Runner.