Photo: Dominic Boucher
As we covered last week, trusted U.S. magazine Consumer Reports published its latest auto reliability rankings, which are based on data collected on more than 330,000 vehicles as reported by their owners. Twenty potential trouble areas are considered (engine, transmission, EV battery, charging, body hardware, paint and trim, etc.), and then a score is awarded on a 100-point scale.
Interestingly, Consumer Reports found that fully electric vehicles prove more reliable than plug-in hybrids, but less reliable than hybrids and ICE-powered vehicles. On average, EVs from the past three model years had 79 percent more problems than conventional vehicles. The popular Hyundai IONIQ 5 is no longer recommended by the publication due to issues with the battery and charging system.
For the 2024 model year, Chrysler (18), Mercedes-Benz (23), Rivian (24), Volkswagen (26), Jeep (26), Volvo (28), GMC (36), Lincoln (38), Ford (40) and Dodge (42) are the brands with the worst predicted reliability. However, it must be noted that Consumer Reports has insufficient data or the manufacturer has too few models for them to rank Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lucid, Maserati, Mitsubishi and Polestar.
Once again, you can take the rankings with a grain of salt if you want. Now, check out the top 10 least reliable 2024 models according to Consumer Reports in this photo gallery.