Subaru beats out U.S. cars in quality poll
By John O'Dell
Los Angeles Times
Small sedan: Ford Focus Family sedan: Honda Accord Hybrid Upscale sedan: Acura TL Luxury car: Lexus LS430 Fun to drive: Subaru Impreza WRX/STi Small SUV: Subaru Forester Midsized SUV: Lexus RX330 3-row SUV: Honda Pilot Minivan: Honda Odyssey Green car: Toyota Prius
Subaru, the Japanese automaker known for its all-wheel-drive vehicles, won the top spot for quality among new-car brands in Consumer Reports' annual automotive issue.
Consumer Reports' Top car picks
The magazine's annual survey of product quality and performance, which hits newsstands tomorrow but has already gone to subscribers, ranks Japanese and South Korean automakers tops for quality. U.S. brands are second, but fall below the industry average, and Europeans rank a distant third.
Subaru jumped 16 places to be listed the most reliable automotive brand overall for 2004 models.
It's the first time Subaru has finished in the top spot in the 26 years Consumer Reports has conducted the survey.
Subaru owners reported eight problems per 100 cars and SUVs — an 8 percent problem rate. Honda was the second-highest-rated brand at 9 percent and Toyota took third at 10 percent. Lexus, last year's leader, fell to fourth with an 11 percent rate.
In another surprise, the magazine found South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s midsize Sonata sedan to be the most reliable car in the United States last year, with just two problems reported for every 100 cars sold.
"That's quite dramatic, and shows that Hyundai has really made a big effort," said David Champion, Consumer Reports' auto testing director. "It used to be a joke to have Hyundai and reliability in the same sentence."
