Buick grabbed much of the limelight when Consumer Reports released its 2016 reliability survey results yesterday, earning the best-ever brand ranking of any domestic marque. But atop the leaderboard, Lexus and its Toyota parent brand continued the automaker’s reign.
Not surprisingly, three of the five most reliable vehicles in America are therefore Lexus and Toyota products. With the Lexus GS and Toyota 4Runner, the top 10 list is half-filled with Toyota products. Only one vehicle in the top ten is a domestic, the eighth-ranked Chevrolet Cruze.
They may be reliable, but do Americans actually want these vehicles? We took a look at the five least reliable vehicles in America and realized that, yes, in some cases, Americans do want them. In fact, the vehicles on the least reliable list account for 2.7 percent of the U.S. new vehicle market.
When it comes to the five most reliable vehicles in Consumer Reports’ survey, less than 1 percent of the market’s buying habits are represented.
LEXUS GX
Closely related to the increasingly popular Toyota 4Runner, the Lexus GX has seen its sales fall 2 percent in a growing SUV/crossover market in 2016. The other three-quarters of Lexus’ utility vehicle lineup — flagship LX, surging new NX, most popular RX — are up 13 percent to 118,047 units this year.
U.S. sales of the extremely reliable GX460 are on track to fall below 24,000 units in 2016, the second-best year of the last decade but well off the pace from 2004, when more than 35,000 were sold.
AUDI Q3
Not launched until the third quarter of 2014, the Audi Q3 is nevertheless an entry-level Audi crossover based on an old Volkswagen Golf platform that was developed more than a decade ago. Apparently, that was more than enough time to work out the kinks.
Through three-quarters of 2016, the Audi Q3 has already produced more sales volume than in all of 2015. But in the nascent and still rather small subcompact luxury crossover category, the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA both sell more often than the Q3, America’s 68th-best-selling utility vehicle.
INFINITI Q70
One of many forgotten members of a category dominated by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series, Infiniti Q70 sales have fallen 29 percent in 2016’s first nine months (to only 4,495 units) after climbing to a three-year high in 2015.
Infiniti sold more than 25,000 copies of the M, the Q70’s predeccessor, a decade ago. Reliability is not remotely enough to stir up demand for the six-year-old Q70 now.
LEXUS CT
According to Consumer Reports, the Lexus CT200h is the most reliable vehicle from the most reliable automobile brand in America.
With few changes, Lexus has sold the CT200h since 2011. Related to the now replaced third-gen Prius, the CT200h is likely to generate fewer than 10,000 U.S. sales in 2016, down from an average of nearly 16,000 over the previous half-decade.
The CT may be the most reliable Lexus, but it only accounts for 3 percent of the Lexus brand’s U.S. volume.
TOYOTA PRIUS
Consistently ranked high in Consumer Reports’ reliability surveys, the Toyota Prius grabbed the top spot in 2016 despite being the kind of all-new model that typically performs poorly in Consumer Reports’ surveys.
Yet with fuel prices low and far more competitors than the Prius faced even five years ago, sales of the new Prius are falling fast. Year-over-year, sales of the Prius are down 9 percent to 78,372 units through 2016’s first nine months. That puts the Prius on pace for slightly more than 100,000 sales in 2016, enough to be one of America’s 20 best-selling cars but still the lowest-volume year for the core member of the Prius family since 2004.
Including the C and V, total Prius family sales are on track to fall to a five-year low.
[Images: Toyota, Infiniti, Audi]
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.
I adore the Prius v but I drive too little for its hybridity to justify the price.
You need a Toyota version of the Transit Connect.
The value proposition for the Prius is as much about reliability and durability as it is about gas mileage.
“reliability and durability”
Yeah…. I don’t care about that.
It’s gotta have *soul*!
“It’s gotta have *soul*!”
James Brown is no longer with us.
Nor Don Cornelius.
“James Brown is no longer with us.”
How I miss my guru.
Yeeow! Good God!
Get on up! Stay on the scene!
Oh, wait, that’s a FIAT. Here, let me call you a tow truck, instead.
Call me whatever you like, just give me his rhythm section.
It’s not much more expensive than its traditionally powered competition.
There are a few nice perks of hybrid cars beyond fuel economy. Perhaps the best is the ability to sit in the car with the climate control running without fouling your own nest with carbon monoxide and unburned gas. (If you sit for a really long time in a non-plug-in, the engine will come on occasionally for a couple of minutes to charge the battery.) With big-battery or plug-in hybrids, you can drive very short trips on electricity, and avoid the environmental damage of a cold start for such a short trip. Regenerative braking makes brake component life really really long.
These things would make me willing to pay just a bit more for a hybrid even if my fuel bill were the same.
I love my hybrid, but I doubt I’ll replace it with another. I need a truck, more horsepower, or both. The C-Max has given me 60K trouble free but boring miles so far. It’s such a good car that I’ll be bored out of my mind for another 5 years…
Not every Hybrid has an electric AC compressor like your C-Max. Many early ones used a belt driven compressor and I bet many of the me too Hybrids that don’t offer a plug in variant still do. The electric AC compressor is a great feature on Hybrids so equipped.
Depending on the type of the hybrid system it can be about the same cost to build as conventional cars when commodity prices, specifically copper and battery materials, are low. The eCVT style used by Ford and Toyota has far fewer components than other transmissions and is much less labor intensive to manufacture. Now when you add it onto a basically conventional transmission ala the old Honda IMA there is just added cost.
I take anything Consumer Reports says with a grain of salt. JD Power is more credible.
Just because they reported wildly different results for the same car under two nameplates (Corolla and Prizm) is no reason to doubt the fussbudgets of CR, LOL.
Not to mention the rating of the Toyota Matrix verses the Pontiac Vibe……
Sigh, this again
One, the Nova and Corolla, as well as the Vibe and Matrix, didn’t diverge much in CR’s rankings.
Two, both sets of twins were built in different places. Assembly location is related to the QA at the plant and it’s supply chain.
The Prizm and Corolla were both built on the same line at NUMMI (previously GM Fremont, now Tesla) in the late 80s, early 90s.
The Vibe was built at NUMMI also while the Matrix was TMMC Cambridge Ontario, although I believe their powertrains were manufactured in a common location.
You need to work on your fact checking. Only “wildly different” in your imagination.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/08/unraveling-the-mystery-of-consumer-reports-brand-spread/
Having owned both a Corolla and Prizm of the same yr I can attest that the Toyota’s interior was of a higher quality than the Prizm, they were not the same. Mechanically identical, however.
“of the M, the Q70’s successor”
Tim, you mean predecessor there.
Was about to point out the same thing.
Indeed. Thanks for the catch.
Low sales numbers meaning sample size is small; all are old designs; not to mention cars you would expect owners to forgive and forget the small things when they do happen. No wonder they are on top.
Prius was new this year.
The body is new but much of the power train is either carry over or just a slight variation of old, well proven, technology.
Why would owners “forgive and forget” just because the design is old?
“Yeah, sure I just bought this 2016 Q70 for $60k and a trim piece fell off immediately, but we all know this design is 6 years old so I don’t mind.” I don’t understand how that narrative works. Especially since several cars on the list are from luxury automakers.
I agree with the other four but I don’t know how you can describe the Prius, or any vehicle with six-figure sales, as “niche.”
The Prius is an excellent choice for any driver who just doesn’t care about cars or driving. It’s my go-to recommendation for such people. Even in a low-fuel-price environment, it’s so reliable, cheap enough to buy, and holds value well enough that its long-term TCO is among the best on the market. It’s roomy and well-equipped for the price, and more practical than the Corolla across the showroom.
And the advantages just get better as you put more miles on them. There’s a reason that the Prius and Prius V are the default choice for Uber drivers.
I can agree with you about the Prius not being like the other four. The hybrid setup seems to impose a lower duty cycle on the powertrain, which can only help reliability. I have seen them used as taxis as well.
But I could not get past the look of the new Prius. I think they made a mistake with the styling. I only seen a couple or three on the road so far; and I can’t get past the look.
“There’s a reason that the Prius and Prius V are the default choice for Uber drivers.”
They are? My Uber rides in the last month have been in a Chrysler 300, Chevy TrailBlazer, first-gen Caddy SRX, Mitsubishi Galant, Dodge Avenger, and Chevy Malibu.
You know I thought Uber had limits on how old your car could be, but I got picked up this past week in an early Pilot which had to be approaching 10, if not there already.
The TrailBlazer I rode in shouldn’t have been allowed on the road. However, most TrailBlazers shouldn’t have been allowed on the road when new.
Lol, please except the special trim S10 TrailBlazer from this as it had an awesome chintzy interior. The Envoy version even had real wood, IIRC.
What about the Diamond Edition Envoy?
That was the Jimmy Diamond Edition you philistine!
Harder to find, but the special grille guard with the giant integrated lamps makes it worth it.
I see plenty of them on CL and ebay at bargain prices that need some work. The Atlas 6 was a decent motor. Even a few Saab 9-7x available in the $2-5k range. You wonder if they are worth it as winter beaters.
Detroit must be different. Around here, I’d say at least two-thirds of my Uber rides are in Prius or Prius v, with a good chunk of the balance being Camry Hybrids.
I did get one oddball Subaru Legacy a couple weeks ago.
You haven’t rode enough, on about 1/3 to 1/2 of my Lyft ride are Prius.
You may have missed a word in the headline.
Mostly he didn’t
LEXUS GX and Toyota Landcruiser. If I had the income I’d buy either one brand new in a heartbeat. There’s just something about them that subtly says: “I’m old money, F-U rich.” much better than the showy new money exotic car.
In pearl white, yeah?
Lexus, pearl white – gold badges.
Landcruiser – buy in refrigerator white, tan leather interior – pay to have it painted a rich forest green cause eff you Toyota and your limited color palette.
On the last series, pearl white with that wheat colored interior. Yummy.
Still wouldn’t buy one, though…not my thing.
If I had FU money, I’d go LC as well. Those in the know will know that you have FU money but most will have no idea. Since I don’t have that kind of money, I have a 4Runner. Not a bad place to be, IMO.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that “(some high number) percent of GX’s will never go off road.”
I thought this was the mandated comment for all large off-roaders. In the case of the GX, it’s probably true. It is engineered for the toughest terrain in the world, and driven by orthodontists in suburbia.
You don’t have to drive a giant boat of a truck to send that message, although the Land Cruiser does it very well. A newer E-class sedan or wagon in white or silver with no cosmetic options (no AMG sport, big wheels, etc.) will also do quite nicely.
Although these days more and more of that type of money just seems to be gravitating toward the Lexus RX, just like everyone else around here. I swear it is becoming the required car if you are over 40, have any money, and live in the Seattle area.
That Mobile Suit Gundam look works on the NX…definitely not on the RX.
@ FreedMike – I had to look up your reference, but I totally agree. When my parents replaced their third-gen RX (which didn’t really need to be replaced), they downsized to the NX because it wears the Mobile Suite Gundam look less badly than does the RX. The NX also has advantages for them in terms of handling, fuel economy, “right-sizing,” and price; but initially it was the looks that caused them eschew the fourth-gen RX.
I know one guy who has both a GX and a Landcruiser in his household; he is most definitely overextended and car poor.
This family is not only not “FU rich”, they’re one missed paycheck away from homelessness.
Maybe this guy is an outlier among GXcruiser owners, but they’re not all understated old money types.
@bike, you will always have those people but they generally gravitate toward things like Escalades.
Land Cruiser owners seem to belong to one of two casts: wealthy WASPs (old money you speak of) or immigrants from countries where Land Cruisers are legend. I see a lot of African immigrants here gravitate to Toyota SUVs, likewise I as someone who’s seen how these things hold up to the bitter cold and awful roads of Siberia, find them the pinnacle of motor vehicle engineering.
Make mine an 80 series with oversized bug deflectors, chrome mirror covers, some Hella foglights, tinted windows and a decent sound system to pump out Russian pop techno remixes and the ballads of Vysotsky.
c-a.d-cd.net/21eecv/960.jpg
Call it “3rd world Edition”
I like that LC80 Limited Edition at the end there, with two-tone leather and exterior paints and broughams, and “full lockers” or something. Or was it auto hubs?
It was the 40th Anniversary, and yes it had selectable front and rear locking diffs, a supremely capable truck. All of the 80 series in the US were fulltime 4wd systems Corey, so no hubs to lock, although I think a few guys tried aftermarket units in a feeble attempt to squeeze a few MPG out of these low-teens beasts.
80 series are absolutely everywhere in Siberia, and fetch a premium. You can buy a new UAZ Patriot for what you’d spend on a good 80 series, and I’d much rather have the 80 series.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/potomo/4937445748/in/photostream/
Typical Far Eastern Siberian car lot:
http://www.google.com/maps/@50.9167587,128.5144426,3a,75y,16.36h,59.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sj8-XFHhSOURxvSESQn5u5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Can we interest you in a Toyota, or a Toyota, or how about this Toyota?
Siberia has some classier choices than I expected.
Siberians love them some RWD yotas. In a random streetview sampling, I’d say the Mark II and its various Chaser/Cresta variants and Crowns are neck and neck with lesser FWD prole-mobiles (Corolla, Carina, Corona et al), at least in the Far East.
Gotta ball hard son:
http://www.google.com/maps/@50.9171756,128.5241084,3a,90y,4.
92h,65.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVZ9LtFddyrcJ9mJYqOUjFw!2e
0!7i13312!8i6656
(A X100 Cresta, X100 Mark II, and an LX470 in the garage for good measure). There’s for sale written on the rear glass of the Cresta: “’99 Diesel motor 2LTE V.G.C OBO, trades”
As you work your way to Central Siberia, pictures like this become more typical (this is Biysk, my relatives live in a small village nearby):
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.5315618,85.1808478,3a,
75y,267.45h,75.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNMj2V5GvURUsJq0
wVuefnw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Almost ALL Russian makes, predominantly Ladas but also Nivas and even an oddball Izh Oda (unequivocally a piece of junk clobbered together from what the factory had laying around). Some self selection going on, as these are the cars of the produce sellers at the market. Predominantly older people from small villages. They like their crude and cheap/easy to repair Russian stuff.
Thanks – I didn’t realize those were all full-time 4WD. I figured it had a similar system to the 4Runner I guess. No wonder the mileage is so poor (aside from that big dated 4.0L.)
That Siberian town road looks sort of like West Virginia.
Edit: I’ll take the black Crown Majesta.
An astute observation. If I had to describe most of non-urban Russia to someone, I’d sum it up as a very cold West Virginia. Lots of poverty from state run enterprises (factories, mines) shutting down. A lot of rusty closed down factory grounds, closed down military bases. Flip side is a ton of small businesses sprang up, little convenience stores and car parts places, tire shops, shashlik stands, etc. A few people do very well for themselves (they drive the new LHD Land Cruisers).
I’m always shocked by how bad the local EDM is when I watch Russian car crash videos. Many of the dashcam set, at least, like it really loud.
I feel like that Central Siberian town you posted has more street life than the vast majority of America. I’d rather have a rundown central street like that than a bunch of strip malls surrounded by gigantic parking lots. Of course, the way to achieve that here is to pay exorbitant sums to live in a big city, rather than to be laid off from a state factory in the middle of nowhere…
dal there’s definitely a certain “flavor” to things over there that I like, perhaps in a grass is greener sort of way. Here in the US the repetition of the same chain restaurants/stores over and over again like a microchip built in impossible to walk and inconvenient to drive between perfectly manicured curbed islands of grass drives me a little nuts sometimes. I personally like to shop around, to haggle, to really interact with sellers, but I understand that many do not. My favorite was going with my cousin to the meat market in preparation for a barbeque. There’s this big old Soviet-era building in Biysk, first floor is a wide open space with the middle being occupied by rows of tables where all the different butchers are selling their meat. All prices negotiable, there are 50 or more people selling the same thing fighting for customers. Ringing this meat-madness along the wall are little shops, a lot of cell phone repair places, a random shoe store, etc. Once you buy your meat there’s a lady near the exit selling spices. Just tell her what dish you’re cooking and she quickly spoons up an appropriate mix from her assortment. Certainly there are also malls in the American style and they’re all the rage, with food courts and all. But it’s that very primal unregulated small-business capitalism at the markets that I enjoy most (certainly there are risks involved). There is a general “laissez faire” attitude in regards to things like that (infrastructure, regulation), driven by lack of resources. Again, in absence of decent factory jobs, people have scrambled to adapt and eke out a living any way they can. Wages are unfortunately VERY low for the rank and file working service sector jobs (taxi, security guard, clerk). Unless you really know how to hustle and break out with a successful small business, you really have to scrimp and improvise.
I actually think the hood fender mount wide angle mirror could be a good idea. Have you ever used one?
Unfortunately I have not!
Many folks with RHDs over there have rigged up systems of interior mirrors to help them see forward when they want to pass on two lane roads, but they only do so much, there are a lot of accidents.
I think the Q70 is currently in the position the Buick Century was in circa 1996.
“What? That’s stupid.” I hear you say, but allow me to explain.
It’s a car at the end of a life cycle, which is full of tried-and-true corporate parts that haven’t changed much in the past 10 years. Aside from a renewed engine from 3.5-3.7L, or 4.5-5.6L and 5-to-7 speeds in the transmission, it is (underneath) unchanged. That makes it both reliable and not interesting/old.
Unlike the old Century however, the Q70 wears a big price tag as new that is out of range of the majority of sedan buyers. The ones who spend that much just get an LS (a better, if more expensive car).
Used in a couple years, it’ll be a good value.
I feel the same about the Leuxs GS-F, which I’d rather have over an LS.
One thing I wonder about is actual transaction prices for the car. Are they selling at msrp or is there a significant discount?
They’re cutting mad deals on them – people seem to be able to get the GSF for under 70k and the best deals (self reported so who knows?) are around 65-66k. I think some people get the RCF for low 60k? The street price gap between the two is much narrower than the MSRP gap (10k or so?).
If the ISF is any indication, it’s going to hang together pretty well and the depriciation curve once it hits about 35k is very slow. An ISF with 30k miles might be 37-41k. An ISF with maintenance records, 120k, and a clean title can easily be 32k. The only sub-30k ISFs I’ve seen have some combination of obvious neglect, a bad title, no maintenance history, crappy repairs and high miles.
Depends if you want new or used. New, the GS F is a nice LS alternative if you’re OK with the much stiffer suspension, and it’s going to hold value better. Used, a LS is a whole lot cheaper, and if you look hard enough there are some LSes out there that have led pampered lives. (I bought a 2008 always-California, always-garaged, fully-loaded version with 43k miles in 2015. At the time I paid $27k for it; now it would be significantly cheaper.)
The Q70 and GX would both have a place in my rich guy garage.
The current iteration of the Prius is incredibly ugly from the b-pillar back. At night the taillights accent the homage to Lincoln jet age non-required “fins” in the most negative way possible.
I’m flummoxed on how anyone would buy this vehicle or how this got past the design studio. It’s like the Pontiac guys who came up with the Aztek went to Acura and gave us the beak, now they’re at Toyota cooking up some gross stuff…
I saw my first one back during Fall move-in time where my wife teaches. I thought it was excitingly modern and beautiful in the same blue as that photo.
But I hope it was a student’s car and not a parent’s because it could carry maybe three boxes and a desk lamp, tops.
As with every Prius but the V, too crampy and claustrophobic.
Have you sat in a regular Prius? They’re quite roomy inside for their size outside.
Yes, one at nearby relatives’ place. Drove it for a while even after freaking out when the ICE cut-out just as I was merging into traffic. It was almost a PTSD issue… you don’t pull that on 60 year-olds with a history of dicey poor-days cars.
The interior experience was about the most miserably claustrophobic and blind I’ve ever had. Fat pillars, fat headrests, obscuring beltline rise in the rear and mirror-in-face up front.
I rode in the back seat of a Prius taxi just last week. We sat 3 across, and there was no lack of room. The space efficiency is remarkable – Toyota makes the best use of a relative small car, and American taxis seem to have less interior room in proportion to the large size of the car.
“Consumer Reports 5 Most Reliable Vehicles For 2016 are Mostly Niche Models You Won’t Buy”
That comes across as a concerted effort to influence the market towards cars people don’t want while negative reviews come across as trying to steer people away from cars they DO want.
Would you have preferred an incorrect headline?
“Consumer Reports 5 Most Reliable Vehicles For 2016 Are The 5 Models On Top Of Your To-Buy List!”
Vulpy’s just sore that he hasn’t yet gotten an attaboy on his new toy.
I suspect the majority of auto “experts” at CR are folks who can’t wait to purchase an autonomous pod vehicle and absolve themselves of the whole driving nuisance thing.
That would be in keeping with their general intelligence and probity.
Probity: being morally and ethically above reproach, having integrity.
I learned a word today! Thanks talking fridge!
I bet I can use that one in a sentence.
“I am probity not going to be hungry for dinner at 5:30.”
How’d I do?
Dun good, Corey…
You’re welcome, Coopdeville.
Just don’t think of Cartman when using that word.
Uh, no, I’d say it comes across as a report on CR’s top five models for reliability.
Really?
The Audi Q3 and Mercedes GLC are more reliable than a Camry or Corolla?
REALLY?
No question they’re much nicer vehicles, but CR can declare them more reliable than a Camry….the same Camry that’s used the same platform, engines, and transmissions for the past DECADE?
The only thing consistent about these lists (both CR and JD Power) is that Toyota always does well and VW and Chrysler always suck. That is the only take-away I’m getting from years of reading these lists.
All the manufacturers in the middle are always moving up, down, and switching places, I can’t trust those results.
Its not a scientific data gathering process. That leads to funny results like e GLC topping a Corolla.
And if you go to #5-#10, you see the Audi Q7.
Really? That was at the bottom of the pile along with its stable-mate Touareg not too long ago. Is this one of those JD Power-esque “initial quality” survey type things? I’ll check back on these guys in 10 years.
Our Infiniti dealer had the busiest garage of all our dealerships (worse than our Nissan dealerships, which came in second). Makes it difficult for me to believe they made anything reliable.
Then there’s VW….
This sounds like a single data point which was taken during a service sale.
When I say “our Infiniti dealer”, I mean the dealer owned by the company I worked for.
It’s dozens of dealerships over several years. Infiniti (one dealer) was on the bottom, followed by Nissan (two dealers). Even the shop supervisor wouldn’t recommend a Nissan product (in private).
Does it represent national averages? I can’t say. It is, however, more than one data point.
Making a few purchases based on the sage advice of Consumer Reports only to have the quality of their choices fall short of terrible. I don’t take them seriously regarding anything.
Well, *I* have no problem accepting your informational equivalent of a spat hocker.