TOYOTA ON TOP
Two of company’s brands named most reliable vehicles by J.D. Power
TOYOTA DOMINATED a prestigious annual study on vehicle dependability, but General Motors was close behind, and German automakers improved markedly this year.
Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand took the top slot in the 2019 J.D. Power US Vehicle Dependability Study for the eighth straight year. Toyota’s namesake brand tied for second.
Volkswagen Group’s Porsche shared the second-place spot and won the first-ever award for the most dependable vehicle in the industry: the Porsche 911 sports car.
GM’s Chevrolet and Buick placed fourth and fifth, respectively, among all brands.
The annual J.D. Power study gauges dependability of threeyear-old vehicles over the last 12 months, meaning that this year’s survey assessed the 2016 model year.
Dependability is a key point of consideration for shoppers, and it typically factors into long-term resale values.
Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and VW all showed improvement as every German automotive brand beat the industry average for the first time in the study’s 30-year history.
Fiat Chrysler’s Fiat brand was last, registering nearly 13 per cent more problems than the next-worst brand, Land Rover. But the Chrysler brand delivered the most improvement of any brand, falling just short of the industry average.
One brand that wasn’t tracked: Tesla, due to “insufficient sample size,” in part tied to restrictions the company placed on the sharing of vehicle data, J.D. Power spokesman Kyle Reuter said in an email.
Of the 20 major vehicle segments tracked by J.D. Power, Lexus, Toyota, BMW, Chevrolet and Buick were the only brands that earned multiple mostdependable vehicle honours, with two each.
At least three of the nameplates honoured in this year’s study have since been discontinued or are poised to go out of production this year: the Buick LaCrosse, Buick Verano and Chrysler Town and Country. Several others have been since redesigned.
The study, which measures
the number of problems per 100 vehicles, found a four per cent overall improvement for the industry from the previous year. That makes it the best-ever year for vehicle dependability.
“But I wouldn’t say that everything is rosy,” said Dave Sargent, vice-president of global automotive at J.D. Power, in a statement. “Vehicles are more reliable than ever, but automakers are wrestling with problems such as voice recognition, transmission shifts, and battery failures.”
Researchers tracked 177 specific problems in eight major categories.
The industry average was 136 problems per 100 vehicles. HOW THE MAJOR BRANDS RANKED:
Porsche: 108
Toyota: 108
Mini: 119
BMW: 122
Audi: 124
Hyundai: 124
Kia: 126
Volkswagen: 131
Mercedes-Benz: 134
Subaru: 136
Nissan: 137
Ford: 146
Honda: 146
Mitsubishi: 158
Mazda: 159
Jeep: 167
Jaguar: 168
Land Rover: 221
THE MOST DEPENDABLE VEHICLES IN EACH SEGMENT:
Small car: Chevrolet Sonic
Compact car: Buick Verano
Compact sporty car: MINI Cooper
Compact multipurpose vehicle: Kia Soul
Compact premium car: Lexus ES
Mid-size car: Toyota Camry
Mid-size sporty car: Dodge Challenger
Mid-size premium car: BMW 5 Series
Large car: Buick LaCrosse
Small SUV: Volkswagen Tiguan
Small premium SUV: Audi Q3
Compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox
Compact premium SUV: BMW X3
Mid-size pick-up: Nissan Frontier
Mid-size SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe
Mid-size premium SUV: Lexus GX
Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country
Large SUV: Ford Expedition
Large light-duty pickup: Toyota Tundra
Large heavy-duty pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD