USA TODAY International Edition

Lexus roars to the top of dependabil­ity list

- Nathan Bomey

Bought a lemon recently?

That was bad luck because new vehicles, on the whole, are more dependable than ever.

That’s according to J. D. Power’s 2020 U. S. Vehicle Dependabil­ity Study, which was released Wednesday. The closely tracked index has found that 2020 is the best year ever for vehicle performanc­e.

The bottom line: Your new vehicle should hold up well. Really well. Either that or something went terribly awry.

The study, which automakers often trumpet to market their vehicles, tracks the number of problems in three- yearold vehicles during the previous 12 months. Per 100 vehicles, the average was 134.

“Despite the increased adoption of complex vehicle technology, dependabil­ity continues to improve,” Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J. D. Power, said in a statement. “There’s no question that three- yearold vehicles today are better built and more dependable than same- age vehicles were in previous years.”

Of the 32 automotive brands tracked

by J. D. Power, Genesis – the luxury brand sold by Hyundai – topped the list of highest- quality brands. It was followed, in order, by Lexus, Buick, Porsche and Toyota.

At the bottom of the list is Land Rover. Second to last: Chrysler.

( Tesla was not included because it does not grant permission to contact its owners in states where it’s required - and those states represent too much of Tesla sales for J. D. Power to achieve a representa­tive sample of its customers.)

The most common trouble for new vehicles continues to be glitches with the audio, entertainm­ent and navigation systems. These issues include touchscree­n flaws, voice recognitio­n failures and Bluetooth connectivi­ty shortcomin­gs.

Among the vehicles tracked by J. D. Power, Japanese automaker Toyota’s Lexus ES topped the list as the most dependable model. Toyota had six winners overall, including two Lexus models. General Motors had four, including three Chevrolet models, while Nissan and Ford had two apiece.

Most dependable model per segment:

Small car: Honda Fit Compact car: Nissan Leaf Midsize car: Buick Regal

Large car: Toyota Avalon

Small premium car: BMW 2 Series Compact premium car: Lexus ES Midsize premium car: Genesis

G80

Compact sporty car: Mazda MX- 5

Miata

Midsize sporty car: Ford Mustang Small SUV: Buick Encore Compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox Midsize SUV: Toyota 4Runner Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe Small premium SUV: Mercedes

Benz GLA

Compact premium SUV: Porsche

Macan

Midsize premium SUV: Lexus GX Minivan: Toyota Sienna

Midsize pickup: Nissan Frontier

Large light- duty pickup: Ford

F- 150 and Toyota Tundra ( tie) Large heavy- duty pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD

The most dependable brands ( problems per 100 vehicles):

1 Genesis ( 80)

2 Lexus ( 100)

3 Buick ( 103)

4 Porsche ( 104)

5 Toyota ( 113)

6 Volkswagen ( 116)

7 Lincoln ( 119)

8 BMW ( 123)

9 Chevrolet ( 123)

10 Ford ( 126)

11 Mazda ( 130)

12 Cadillac ( 131)

13 Hyundai ( 132)

14 Kia ( 132)

15 Audi ( 136)

16 Nissan ( 136)

17 Acura ( 139)

18 Honda ( 139)

19 Ram ( 140) 20Mitsubis­hi ( 146) 21 Mini ( 147) 22Mercedes- Benz ( 152) 23Subaru ( 154) 24Infiniti ( 155) 25Dodge ( 158) 26Jeep ( 159) 27Fiat ( 160) 28GMC ( 162) 29Volvo ( 185) 30Jaguar ( 186)

31 Chrysler ( 214) 32Land Rover ( 220)

 ??  ?? The Lexus ES is the most dependable­m vehicle of 2020, according to J. D. Power. LEXUS
The Lexus ES is the most dependable­m vehicle of 2020, according to J. D. Power. LEXUS

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