The five most reliable vehicles in the rankings are: Toyota Prius, Lexus ES 300h, Scion xB, Toyota Prius c and the Subaru Forester with the non-turbo-charged engine.
Ten of the highest scorers in the survey were Toyotas. Of the eight Lexus models in the survey, six got top marks. All Lexus models earned an above average reliability score, while all Toyota models earned an average or better reliability score.
To be recommended by Consumer Reports, a vehicle must perform well in a battery of its tests, have average or better reliability in its annual Auto Survey and perform well in government and industry crash tests.
During its annual reporting, Consumer Reports said it will no longer recommend vehicles that receive a “poor” rating in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) crash tests or for poor scores on reliability. As a result, the publication revoked its recommendations for Toyota’s Camry, RAV4 and Prius v based on small offset crash test results.
The new IIHS small offset crash test involves only a front corner of a vehicle and goes beyond federal requirements. It is not currently part of IIHS' Top Safety Pick designation.
The Camry, Prius v and RAV4 are on the current IIHS “Top Safety Pick” list which includes 21 Toyota vehicles, more than any other manufacturer.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) periodically develops new, more severe or specialized tests that go beyond federal requirements. With the small over-lap test, the Institute has raised the bar again, and we are responding to the challenge. We are looking at a range of solutions to achieve greater crash performance in this area. Toyota has made changes to the Camry to improve its performance in the crash test, and IIHS is planning to retest the car in December.
