These Brands Make The Best Cars According To Consumer Reports

The average new car is more expensive now than ever before at over $50,000, and the last thing anyone wants to do after spending all that money on a new car is deal with reliability troubles. If you're in the market for a new car and you don't want to find yourself returning to the dealership sooner and more frequently than you should, then this study could be a big help. Consumer Reports just released its list of the best car manufacturers based on the quality of their vehicles, based on the average of their new vehicles' overall score. The overall score is a combination of results from CR's road tests, safety assessments, and reliability and owner satisfaction surveys.

Unfortunately this isn't a completely infallible way of ensuring that your new car will be entirely trouble-free, but it is a good way to inform yourself before you do your car shopping. These are the top 10 best car brands, and five of the worst.

According to Consumer Reports, the tenth-best car company is Tesla, with an overall average score of 72 out of 100. Tesla's road-test scores are quite good with an 81, but it's dragged down by average predicted reliability. Acura comes in ninth, with a slightly higher overall score of 73 despite a slightly lower road-test score of 80. It also gets average marks for predicted reliability. Hyundai came in the same spot that it did last year in eighth place with an overall score of 74. Its road-test scores are high at 85, but its predicted reliability is average as well.

Seventh and sixth place might surprise you: in a remarkable showing, Lincoln made the biggest jump of all car brands, placing 17-spots higher than last year and clinching seventh place with an overall score of 75. It also earns a good road-test score of 82, but it is the only brand in the top 10 with an average predicted reliability rating and an average owner satisfaction score. All other brands have good scores for owner satisfaction. Lexus placed sixth overall, actually tying Lincoln's overall score of 75. That's right, Lexus came in sixth, falling three places from last year's rankings despite good predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. CR says this is due to models like the Lexus GX falling down to average reliability scores, and the absence of the strong-performing Lexus ES sedan which is receiving a redesign for the 2026 model year.

Toyota placed higher than its luxury sibling, but not by any noticeable margin; it earned an overall score of 75 too, but it has a lower road test score of 77. As with Lexus, predicted reliability and owner satisfaction are good, but only good enough for fifth place. Honda beat out its Japanese adversary by one point, with an overall score of 76, and a superior road test score of 83, as well as the same good predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

German sports car manufacturer Porsche rounds out the top three best car companies, with an overall score of 79. Its average road test score is 84, and its predicted reliability and owner satisfaction are both good.

Another sporty German, or more accurately Bavarian automaker, claims second place for another year. BMW achieved a great overall score of 82, with the highest average road test score of all automakers in this study at 89. Predicted reliability is only average, but Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, said, "BMW has made very highly desirable models for years, and their reliability easily outshines all of their European rivals." Well done BMW, but there's still one company that placed higher.

According to Consumer Reports, Subaru is the brand that makes the best cars, yet again. It tied BMW's overall score of 82 and received the second-highest road-test score on the list at 88, but it received good scores for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

Spoiler alert: Stellantis brands make up a majority of the five lowest scoring automakers out of a total of 31 companies. Italian automaker Alfa Romeo is ranked 27, though its overall score of 55 ties it with 28 and 29 places. Its overall road test score is a respectable 73, but it has below average predicted reliability. Dodge ended up in 28 with the same overall score and below-average predicted reliability as its Stellantis sibling Alfa, but a lower road test score of 67. GMC comes in 29 place with the same overall score of 55, but a better road test score than Dodge at 72. It also earned a below-average score for its predicted reliability.

The number 30 spot goes to Land Rover with an overall score of just 52 out of 100. It tied Dodge's low road test score of 67, and it earned a below-average rating for predicted reliability. Care to hazard a guess at the worst car brand for 2026 according to Consumer Reports? Yup, you're right, it's Jeep. Jeep's overall score is a dismal 48 out of 100, and it earned the worst average road test score of every car brand on the list at 64. It also earned a below-average score for predicted reliability, and it received an average rating in customer satisfaction.