Wondering which car, truck or crossover is the best for you to buy? There are plenty of factors to consider, including price, performance, handling, features, and safety — though reliability typically lands in the top spot for most American shoppers. Consumer Reports has handed out its 2025 Automotive Report Card and this year put a premium on dependability. The results might take some readers by surprise.
New vehicle prices have been hovering near record levels since the COVID pandemic struck, currently averaging around $48,000. That’s a lot to shell out for a car, truck, or crossover. And, whatever you buy, you want to make sure it lives up to your expectations.
“Buying a new car is a big expense and one that requires a lot of research to arrive at the best choice,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “Our new experience at CR.org makes that research easier by presenting exclusive unbiased data and insights on everything from reliability to cost of ownership in a streamlined way that’s simple to navigate.”
Readers Weigh In — And Deliver Some Surprises
As it has for decades, Consumer Reports today issued its latest annual Automotive Report Card, grading individual brands and models using a variety of metrics. Among other things, it put scores of new models through their paces on both public roads and the organization’s Connecticut test track.
It looked at safety and tech features, and it pulled together reports from about 300,000 readers who weighed in on products from model years 2000 to 2024, as well as early 2025 models.
The results were, in some cases, surprising. For one thing, little Subaru outscored bigger brands like Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai on the reliability chart. Equally unexpected, said Fisher, Toyota landed third, behind its upscale Lexus brand. Honda and Acura rounded out the top five brands.
Rivian Unplugged
At the other extreme, Rivian came in at rock bottom, with a Brand Reliability Score of just 14, compared to Subaru’s 68. Cadillac was second from last with — working up the scale — GMC, Jeep, and Volkswagen rounding the bottom-of-the-barrel brands.
CR’s owner/contributors said Rivian suffered from all sorts of problems, everything from battery failures to faulty onboard electronics. Cadillac’s weak standing, meanwhile, was largely the result of issues with the Lyriq EV.
And if you recognize a pattern here, it’s the fact that “we’re seeing more problems with all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles” than those using internal combustion engines or hybrid powertrains, Fisher told me.
“It’s no surprise,” he added, considering the newness of the technology. On the other hand, as automakers get more experience with electrified drivetrains, “The gap is closing. We’re seeing big improvements.”
That’s already happened with conventional hybrids, which showed little difference in reliability between gas and gas-electric variants.
Japan Dominates
From a reliability standpoint, Japanese marques tended to top the CR chart, while Koreans were a mixed bag. Kia was ninth of 22 brands, Hyundai rounding out the top 10. But the high-line Genesis fell to 14th, largely due to issues like the drive and fuel systems on its best-selling model, the GV70.
Audi and BMW were the only Europeans in that rarified group, at seventh and eighth. U.S. automakers weren’t faring well, however. Buick was the highest-ranked brand, at 11th, while others landed in the middle and lower third of the chart.
Tesla Trouble
Tesla clearly will be thankful that it isn’t Rivian, but still made it only up to 17th position. It had its good product lines, said Fisher, the Models 3 and Y, and its problem children: the original Models S and X being some of the most problem-plagued in the industry.
There wasn’t yet enough data to measure how the new Cybertruck fared — but Fisher isn’t optimistic, based on early reports. “We don’t expect great things,” he said.
Subaru Repeats
While CR put the emphasis on its reliability report, it also looked at how various brands and models fared from a broader perspective. And here’s where Subaru delivered another surprise, coming in as the number one brand overall. It clawed its way to the top, surpassing BMW by a single point.
The overall results, the nonprofit said, are based on “a combination of CR’s road-test scores, predicted reliability and owner satisfaction data, and safety for all of the models from each automaker.”
At Least It Isn’t Rivian
Landing on top isn’t easy, explained Fisher, noting that some brands do really well when it comes to reliability, landing in the number 3 spot. But “it was mid-pack when it comes to road tests,” he explained, dragging its overall ranking down to ninth.
For its part, Rivian didn’t suffer the ignominy of anchoring both charts — Jeep fell to the bottom in the overall results. But that was small comfort for the EV startup. It managed to clamber up just one position, ranking second-to-bottom.
