Posted Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 10:19pm
Subaru for the second time in four years led Consumer Reports’ annual brand report card as domestic automakers struggled in a ranking that measures factors including vehicle performance, safety and reliability.
The 2025 report card, issued about two months earlier than usual, is part of an updated data set released by Consumer Reports that packages all of its automotive rankings in one spot. The outlet on Dec. 5 also issued its 2025 list of most reliable brands, which Subaru topped as well.
Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director of auto testing, in an interview said automakers following a more long-term strategy that isn’t reworked every few years tend to perform better.
“The more you change, the more errors can crop up,” Fisher told Automotive News. “When you look at an automaker like Toyota or Subaru — which really stays the course, makes incremental changes and already has good competitive products — they’re really poised to do quite well. Other automakers swing quite widely; there’s a new platform, new powertrains and that’s where you wind up having reliability problems.”