Lexus and Toyota in the lead
In both lists, both the Japanese giant and its premium brand (in fact, it is above it in both cases) appear at the top. In the OCU it also happens that among them is Subaru, a brand that has a ‘modest’ sales volume on our roads but that has also proven to be one with very solid models – and let us remember that Toyota has a large part of its shareholding, which is no coincidence. It is surprising that Mitsubishi is fourth in the ranking, although it corresponds to the OCU 2022 data – since then the brand has presented new models that are nothing more than Renault with another logo, as is the case with its Colt and ASX (Clio and Captur with three diamond logos).
On this list Kia appears in fifth position followed by Suzuki – which shares some models with Toyota by having this part of its shareholding. Kia manages to beat its parent company Hyundai in this case, but both are considered brands with a good relationship between reliability or what they offer with respect to price in the market, far from the image of cheap brands that they had when they entered our market in the nineties. Honda, with a reduced sales volume in Spain compared to previous years, is in eighth position ahead of Mazda…another Japanese brand in which Toyota has a stake. A Mazda that is perhaps the most different of all the Japanese companies, being the first to bring an extended range hybrid to the market.
As an aside, JD Power also gave Lexus the best rating in 2023, followed by Genesis (Hyundai’s premium brand in the United States), Kia, Buick and Chevrolet, surpassing both General Motors brands over Mitsubishi, Toyota or Hyundai, in addition to MINI, which is ranked as the best in Europe, as is also the case with Consumer Reports. Nissan, Dodge, Cadillac, Mazda, GMC and BMW are also above average on this list.
The first European firm on the OCU list is not a Premium, but ours: SEAT, with a mostly positive rating that surpasses that of Dacia, Skoda, Nissan or DS, the first among the Stellantis firms. Of course, everything that happened with the wet belts of the PureTech engines (a system used in Ford’s EcoBoost and some VAG engines, but without the Stellantis design flaw) or that of Adblue for diesel engines has affected the French giant. . Relatively simple brands that are located above the European premium brands in the list referring to our market. Volkswagen, Smart, Peugeot, Mercedes, BMW and MINI complete the top 20 positions, followed by traditional firms such as Ford, Citroën, Audi, Volvo, Renault and SsangYong.
With regard to individual models, VAG’s assessment draws attention, since the most reliable car with a diesel engine is currently considered the Volkswagen T-Roc 1.6 TDI, while on the gasoline side it would be the Audi Q3 1.5. It is surprising that the Kia Rio and the Hyundai i20 of the previous generation are also well rated, one with the 1.4 TGDI and another with the 1.0 TGDI when the mechanics in both models are almost identical. The Lexus IS 2.5 and Toyota Corolla 2.0/Toyota RAV4 2.5 are the conventional hybrids with the fewest breakdowns.
Further back, much further back than expected, Porsche is in 27th place – and, as some motor experts point out, this is largely due to problems related to the electric Taycan – or, put another way, to the youth of its technology with respect to other more conventional propulsion models, among other aspects. Opel, FIAT, Jeep, Lancia (which plans a return but is currently only sold in Italy) and Chevrolet are listed below. The list is closed by Jaguar and Land Rover, which was to be expected considering the recurring problems of the two companies owned by Tata, as well as Alfa Romeo, plagued by supply and customer service problems. And in last place in the OCU ranking is Tesla, most likely affected by controversies over assembly quality and other recurring problems, in addition to customer service.
Brands with disparate positions
Between the lists of Consumer Reports and the OCU there are some curious discrepancies, especially in the positions of MINI, Porsche or BMW, at the level of the Japanese ones (near Honda/Acura and Mazda in particular) and above the Korean ones. It is curious to see how Tesla, on the American list, is located above Infiniti (and this in turn above Nissan, most likely as a result of the problems with its North American gearboxes from years ago), Audi, Chevrolet or Ford. In this list, Jeep, Volkswagen, Rivian (also North American and focused on electric vehicles like Tesla), Mercedes and Chrysler occupy the last positions.
Consumer Reports claims they did not have enough sampling to include Alfa Romeo, Mitsubishi, FIAT, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati and Polestar on the list, as well as the American electric company of Chinese origin Lucid Motors. Likewise, the OCU ranking does not include recently arrived Chinese brands such as the ‘new’ MG, BYD, Omoda or EVO. Of all these, by the time the OCU updates its ranking, it is expected that BYD and/or MG will be the best stops, also taking into account that in Central America BYD has already been operating for some time and MG is the newcomer, unlike what happens in Spain.
All this may be relevant not for the cars that we normally deal with at Cars & Pizza Club… but for choosing or recommending current everyday cars, an indicator of how reliable modern cars of each brand really are. A turbulent and inflated market in terms of prices, although little by little a contrary trend is being observed, both in new cars due to subsidies (or lack thereof) and in used cars.
