You are here

Ranked: The Most Reliable Car Brands in 2026 (New vs. Used)

See more visualizations like this on the Voronoi app.

Use This Visualization

The Most Reliable Car Brands in 2026 (New vs. Used)

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Lexus and Toyota are the most reliable used car brands in 2026, based on the analysis of over 380,000 vehicles by Consumer Reports.
  • Toyota and Subaru top reliability rankings for newer models in 2026.
  • Tesla ranks in last place across 26 brands for its used models, driven by numerous issues with older cars.

The reliability of car brands can vary widely, and those differences—especially between new and used models—can cost owners thousands in repairs and upgrades over a vehicle’s lifetime.

Reliability can also change significantly over time. Several EV brands, for instance, have shown improving reliability in newer models as battery and powertrain technology matures and earlier issues are resolved. At the same time, some traditional automakers, such as Mazda, have seen reliability decline in recent model years.

This graphic shows the most reliable new and used car brands in 2026, based on Consumer Reports data.

Comparing the Most Reliable Used Car Brands

For the 2026 rankings, 380,000 reports were analyzed from consumers factoring in vehicle problems.

Each brand was scored on a scale of 1 to 100 based on 20 key trouble areas to arrive at the predicted reliability score. Used cars were based on problem rates on currently owned 5- to 10-year-old vehicles.

2026 Rank Used Cars Predicted Reliability Score
1 Lexus 77
2 Toyota 73
3 Mazda 58
4 Honda 57
5 Acura 53
6 BMW 53
7 Buick 51
8 Nissan 51
9 Audi 49
10 Volvo 48
11 Mercedes-Benz 47
12 Subaru 47
13 Volkswagen 46
14 Lincoln 46
15 Mini 46
16 Cadillac 45
17 Hyundai 43
18 Chevrolet 40
19 Ford 39
20 Dodge 39
21 Kia 39
22 GMC 37
23 Chrysler 36
24 Ram 35
25 Jeep 32
26 Tesla 31

In 2026, Lexus is the most reliable brand for used cars, seeing a higher score across older vehicles than newer ones.

As a luxury brand owned by Toyota, it also ranked in the top three most reliable new cars, highlighting its performance consistency. Toyota, meanwhile, follows closely behind, also ranking highly in both categories.

Coming in at a distant third is Mazda, which ranks better for its old vehicles than its newer ones because of process changes.

In contrast, the least reliable brands for used cars were Tesla, Jeep, and Ram.

While new Teslas rank ninth across new cars, reliability plummets meaningfully given several issues with older models. Yet more promisingly, newer Model 3 and Model Ys, show above-average reliability as problem rates have declined.

Comparing the Most Reliable New Car Brands

Below are the most reliable new car brands:

2026 Rank New Cars Predicted Reliability Score
1 Toyota 66
2 Subaru 63
3 Lexus 60
4 Honda 59
5 BMW 58
6 Nissan 57
7 Acura 54
8 Buick 51
9 Tesla 50
10 Kia 49
11 Ford 48
12 Hyundai 48
13 Audi 44
14 Mazda 43
15 Volvo 42
16 Volkswagen 42
17 Chevrolet 42
18 Cadillac 41
19 Mercedes-Benz 41
20 Lincoln 40
21 Genesis 33
22 Chrysler 31
23 GMC 31
24 Jeep 28
25 Ram 26
26 Rivian 24

For a deeper breakdown on this section of the ranking, check out our full ranking of new car brands also leveraging Consumer Reports data.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on America’s slowest depreciating cars.

Source
America