Consumer Reports’ 2009 most reliable auto brands

Ford has secured its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class reliability, according to Consumer Reports. About 90 percent (46 of 51) of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln products were found to have average or better reliability, according to Consumer Reports’ 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey.

Ford’s sustained production of vehicles that are as dependable—or better than—some of the industry’s best dispels the notion that only Japanese manufacturers make reliable cars. Other than the Toyota Prius, the reliability of the 4-cylinder Fusion and Milan ranks higher than that of any other family sedan. Both of those Ford Motor Company products continue to beat the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, while the upscale Lincoln MKZ tops its rivals, the Acura TL and Lexus ES.

More details, and a list of models with the best and worst predicted-reliability Ratings, will appear first on www.ConsumerReports.org. The reliability report will also appear in the December issue of Consumer Reports, on sale Nov. 3, and in the latest Consumer Reports Cars publication, Best & Worst New Cars for 2010, which also includes predicted-reliability ratings for more than 300 models.

A large margin separates the best from the worst. The least reliable vehicle, the Volkswagen Touareg, is 27 times more likely to have a problem than the most reliable car, the Honda Insight.

In addition to the Insight, small car reliability scores stood out. Twenty of 37 small cars have above-average predicted-reliability including the Honda Fit, Scion xD and Volkswagen Golf. Family cars fared nearly as well, with 21 out of 42 scoring above average. Five of the eight most reliable family cars are hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Even good brands falter. Among the least reliable vehicles in their respective classes are the all-wheel-drive Lexus GS, the Nissan Versa sedan, and the Subaru Impreza WRX.

Here’s the brand ranking, best to worst:

1. Scion

2. Honda

3. Toyota

4. Infiniti

5. Acura

6. Mitsubishi

7. Lexus

8. Hyundai

9. Porsche

10. Mercury

11. Saab

12.Subaru

13. Suzuki

14. Kia

15. Mazda

16. Ford

17. Nissan

18. Volvo

19. Buick

20. Lincoln

21. Volkswagen

22. Pontiac

23. Mercedes-Benz

24. Audi

25. Chevrolet

26. BMW

27. Mini

28. GMC

29. Saturn

30. Jeep

31. Dodge

32. Cadillac

33. Chrysler

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