Several of BMW's flagship models are slated to receive facelifts or full replacements, but that didn't stop the German automaker from taking the top spot on Consumer Reports' annual Best Brands list for the first time.
In CR's Automotive Brand Report Card rankings, BMW has moved up two places to first place, relegating the previous winner Subaru to second place. Members.
Brand score rating
- BMW 81 points.
- Subaru 79 points.
- Mini 79 points.
- Lexus 77 points.
- Honda 77 points.
- Toyota 76 points.
- Genesis 76 points.
- Mazda 75 points.
- Audi 74 points.
- Kia has 73 points.
“BMW makes many high-performance, full-featured, and reliable models, so it's not surprising to see them at the top of our reliability brand rankings,” said Jake Fisher, Senior Director of Vehicle Testing at Consumer Reports.
He continued, “However, non-luxury brands such as Subaru, Toyota, and Mazda have consistently ranked highly in recent years, ensuring that consumers will not have to sacrifice affordability for the sake of a quality vehicle.”
Mini, BMW's sister brand, also performed well in the study, climbing 5 places to reach third place, while Asian brands dominated the rest of the top 10, which included Lexus, Honda, Toyota, Genesis, Mazda, and Kia. In addition to the German brand Audi.
Buick was the best-performing domestic brand at 12th, followed by Dodge at 15th and Lincoln at 16th.
Brands were the worst
Lincoln's midsize ranking may not seem impressive until you consider that it's up 10 spots from last year, putting it well ahead of luxury rivals Cadillac (24) and Mercedes-Benz (25) (26). CR credits Lincoln with the strongest performance in this year's competition. to the improved reliability of Corsair and Nautilus SUVs.
Tesla also moved up 6 places, to 17th, due to improved reliability, but British luxury brands such as Jaguar and Land Rover are still struggling to gain the trust of their customers.
Jaguar finished 30th, one place ahead of Alfa Romeo, and Land Rover came in 32nd last, saving Jeep from the bottom for the second year in a row.
Consumer Reports also highlighted Toyota's tally of nine low-emission 'CR Green Choice' cars, noting that while the Japanese manufacturer has been slow to add fully electric cars to its lineup, its showrooms are full of clean hybrids.