Tesla makes big gains while Mazda loses significant ground in survey data
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Toyota has overtaken Subaru as the industry’s most reliable brand for new cars according to new data from Consumer Reports. In the outlet’s 2026 vehicle reliability study released today, Lexus joins Toyota and Subaru in the top three, while Honda and BMW round out the top five. American brands dominate the bottom of the list, which includes Chrysler, GMC, Jeep, Ram, and Rivian.
Tesla made the biggest gains in the study, moving up eight spots to land in ninth place overall. Consumer Reports attributes this shift in part to the performance of the Model 3 and Model Y, which each rank as the most reliable electric vehicles (EVs) in their segments. However, the publication notes the Model S and Model X each score average, and reliability on the Cybertruck pickup truck is considered below average.
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As for the automaker with the biggest drop in the rankings, Mazda claims this unfortunate title. The brand dropped eight spots relative to last year, mainly due to reliability concerns with both the internal combustion engine (ICE) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of its large CX-70 and CX-90 SUVs. All versions of these vehicles scored below average or well below average in the survey results.
In reporting this year’s findings, Consumer Reports reiterated that ICE and conventional hybrid vehicles — those that don’t require a plug — continue to be the most reliable powertrain types, while PHEVs and EVs are less reliable on average.
Consumer Reports calculates its reliability data based on surveys sent to its subscribers. This year, data was collected on roughly 380,000 vehicles, examining owner experiences over the past 12 months covering between 12 and 20 potential problem areas depending on vehicle type. Data for at least two models from at least two of the model years from 2023 to 2026 must be collected for a brand to be listed in the new car reliability data. This means Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lucid, Maserati, Mini, Mitsubishi, Polestar, and Porsche were left out this time around.
3.80
out of 5
MSRP $33,685 to $45,305
3.25
out of 5
MSRP $24,520 to $32,840
3.80
out of 5
MSRP $24,820
3.00
out of 5
MSRP $27,740 to $37,215
3.90
out of 5
MSRP $60,635
In a separate Consumer Reports study covering the long-term reliability of five to 10-year-old vehicles, Lexus and Toyota again rise to the top. Interestingly, Mazda is in the top three on this ranking, which hammers home the point that the newer CX-70 and CX-90 are the problem points around reliability for the brand. Honda and Acura round out the top five.
“Brands like Lexus and Toyota have a history of conservative redesigns, incrementally improving their entire product line rather than introducing many all-new systems,” says Steven Elek, program leader of auto data analytics for Consumer Reports. “Our data consistently shows over time that cars from those brands are reliable when new, and they continue to be reliable as they age.”
Consistent with the broader reliability study above, the bottom five brands for reliability in five- to 10-year-old vehicles are all American. GMC ranks 22nd, while Chrysler, Ram, Jeep each sit ahead of Tesla, which lands in the bottom position.
The publication notes it’s no surprise that its longer-term reliability data looks very different from new car ratings for some brands. Models examined in the long-term study are often from a previous generation than new cars, so platforms and parts may not necessarily be the same ones used on newer cars. Automaker lineups also change over time, especially over the past decade with the shift away from cars like sedans and hatchbacks and into more SUVs and pickup trucks.
Reliability information from Consumer Reports is one of the tools available to used car buyers who want to make informed choices about the vehicles that are least likely to create maintenance headaches over time. Another industry gold standard is the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, which is typically released each February.
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Stephanie Wallcraft is a full-time professional freelance writer and content creator based in Toronto. Her areas of automotive expertise include new vehicle reviews, consumer information and purchasing advice, family-friendly transportation, motorsport, and road trip travel. Stephanie has been a contributor to Driving.ca since 2019.
Stephanie has more than 10 years of freelance automotive writing experience with bylines in major Canadian and U.S.-based publications. She has expertise in new vehicle reviews, consumer information and purchasing advice, family-friendly transportation, motorsport, and road trip travel. She served for six years on the Board of Directors for the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, including as the first woman to hold the role of President (2019-2022).
Stephanie graduated from high school at Turner Fenton Campus in Brampton, and from Seneca College with a diploma in Radio and Television Broadcasting. The latter included focused training in broadcast journalism. But the education that led her into a career in automotive journalism started as a young girl in the grandstands of the Honda Indy Toronto and continued in the press rooms of the NTT IndyCar Series and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
When deciding to attend Seneca College for training in broadcasting, Stephanie had a singular goal: to graduate and get a job as a motorsport pit reporter. What she failed to calculate into her plans was that there was precisely one pit reporting job in all of Canada at the time, and it was a part-time gig at best.
Upon realizing that ambition wasn’t in the cards, she spent roughly 15 years working traditional office jobs, 12 of which were with major law firms in downtown Toronto. This valuable period of her career taught her the importance of precision in the written word and diplomacy in the workplace.
Her passion for fast machines on four wheels never wavered, and over time she began writing and podcasting on the side for a website she co-owned focused on IndyCar racing. She became a regular on the circuit, self-funding her way to eight to ten races per year and delivering to-the-minute coverage on her website as well as the platform formerly known as Twitter.
This is how she captured the attention of Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee Norris McDonald, who offered her an opportunity to place her byline in one of Canada’s premier automotive newspaper sections. She left her office job six months later and hasn’t looked back.
In addition to Driving.ca, Stephanie’s automotive-related work has appeared in the Wheels section of the Toronto Star, CarGurus Canada, AutoTrader.ca, lifestyle magazines such as NUVO, MONTECRISTO, SHARP, and Corporate Knights, industry publications including Supply Professional magazine and Automotive News Canada, and elsewhere. Stephanie also owns and operates RoadTripper.ca, a website dedicated to Canadian road trip travel.
Winner: 2025 AJAC Adventure and Travel Journalism Award
Winner: 2025 AJAC Road Safety Journalism Award
Winner: 2025 AJAC Automotive Business Journalism Award
Runner-up: 2025 AJAC Automotive Journalism Award for Vehicle Testing
Winner: 2024 AJAC Canadian Automotive Journalist of the Year
Winner: 2024 AJAC Automotive Business Journalism Award
Winner: 2024 AJAC Automotive Journalism Award for Technical Topics
Runner-up: 2024 AJAC Road Safety Journalism Award
Runner-up: 2024 AJAC Feature Writing Award
Winner: 2023 AJAC Feature Writing Award
Runner-up: 2022 AJAC Jaguar Land Rover Canada Journalist of the Year
Winner: 2022 AJAC Adventure and Travel Journalism Award
Winner: 2022 AJAC Road Safety Journalism Award
Runner-up: 2022 AJAC Automotive Business Journalism Award
Runner-up: 2021 AJAC Adventure and Travel Journalism Award
Winner: 2020 AJAC Julie Wilkinson Motorsport Journalism Award
Winner: 2019 AJAC Julie Wilkinson Motorsport Journalism Award
Winner: 2017 AJAC Environmental Journalism Award
Winner: 2017 AJAC Road Safety Journalism Award
Winner: 2015 AJAC Feature Writing Award
Email: stephaniewallcraft@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniewallcraft
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