Consumer Reports Ranks Toyota as Most Reliable, Ford and Lincoln at the Bottom

How the times have changed, and fast. Consumer Reports just released its 2012 Car Reliability Survey and one of Detroit’s strongest nameplates is sitting at the very bottom looking up. While Jaguar took the top spot for CR‘s worst rated brands, Ford finished close behind in second, followed by its luxury arm, Lincoln. As for the most reliable vehicles as rated by Consumer Reports? It’s a clean sweep from Toyota as Scion, Toyota, and Lexus take the top three spots, respectively.

Leading the charge for Toyota and all other new cars was the Prius C, which earned the highest ranking of all but was still unable to crack the “recommended” rating. The title for top domestic brand goes to Cadillac which moved up 14 spots this year. General Motors as a whole had a strong showing with Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC all rising within the ranks. Chrysler wasn’t as lucky however, as four of the automaker’s six brands were listed on Consumer Reports’ worst new cars reliability-wise. Ram checked in first at number 4 while Dodge and Chrysler took fifth and sixth place, respectively. Jeep rounded out the top 10 of worst new cars on CR‘s list.

Germany also made its presence felt as Audi and Mercedes-Benz both cracked the top 10 for most reliable new cars. Out of the seven Audis polled by CR, six earned a score or average or better. Mercedes-Benz benefitted from the C250 sedan equipped with the turbocharged four-cylinder engine. While the E-Class with a V-6 engine also boosted Mercedes, the all-new M-Class may have just equalized it. The mid-size SUV earned a score of below average in its first year on sale after the redesign but that’s not uncommon.

Just two years ago, GM and Chrysler’s cross-town rival was sitting atop the domestic reliability leaderboard. Now, Ford and Lincoln have experienced a steep fall from grace but loyalists to the Blue Oval shouldn’t fret. Consumer Reports’ Car Reliability survey is a fluid one as it relies on owners of new model cars and their personal opinions. To gather information for the latest report, CR polled 1.2 million people and their personal experience with their daily driver. Check out the chart in its entirety below.

Are you happy with your current daily driver? Would you buy it again given the chance? Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Source: Consumer Reports