Survey: Japanese cars beat most US autos on reliability

American consumers believe vehicles produced by Toyota and Honda are the most reliable, according to the 2009 Annual Auto Survey in Consumer Reports.

The two Japanese automakers topped the Research Reliability Ratings for 2009 models by category.

Of the 48 models with top reliability scores, 36 are Asian brands. Toyota had 18; Honda had eight; Nissan had four; and Hyundai/Kia and Subaru each had three.

All Hondas and Acuras were ranked average or above. Toyota, with its Lexus and Scion brands, had only the Lexus GS AWD that was below average in reliability.
 
Hybrids, small, and family cars rated the highest in terms of predicted reliability based on Consumer Reports' subscribers' experiences with 1.4 million vehicles. And five of the eight most reliable family cars were hybrids.

Ford is the only top American automaker in the report. About 90 percent of Ford products had average or better reliability. The four-cylinder Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan led the charge, beating out the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry for the second year.

The research said that some cars rate high in reliability, but don't perform well enough in the tests to recommend them, citing the Toyota Yaris as an example.

Agencies and Shi Jierui contributed to this story

Explore the World, Understand China!
Please log on www.gloaltimes.cn