The much-beleaguered Toyota brand received some welcome good news recently, when J.D. Power and Associates reported its 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study, which seeks to measure long-term reliability by analyzing drivers’ experiences after three years of vehicle ownership. According to Power, Toyota had four segment-topping vehicles in the survey, more than any other automaker.
These included the Toyota Prius (Most Dependable Compact), Toyota Sequoia (Most Dependable Large Multi Activity Vehicle), Toyota Tundra (Most Dependable Large Pickup) and Toyota Highlander (Most Dependable Midsize Multi Activity Vehicle). Toyota proper also ranked eighth overall among all auto brands, with its luxury division, Lexus, nabbing the fourth spot.
The overall most dependable brand was Porsche, followed by Lincoln and Buick. Rounding out the top ten were Mercury, Honda, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Acura, while Hyundai, Cadillac, Infiniti and Subaru also finished above the industry average.
If some of those names seem a bit surprising, that’s a reflection of how hard it is for automakers to eliminate the gap between consumer perceptions of a vehicle’s quality and its real-world dependability.
“It takes considerable time to positively change consumer perceptions of quality and reliability—sometimes a decade or more—so it is vital for manufacturers to continually improve quality and also to convince consumers of these gains,” according to David Sargent, Power’s vice president of automotive research.
Buick and Mercury are perfect examples of this. Buick has a long history at the top of the Power charts, and two of its products—the Buick LaCrosse and Buick Lucerne—were among the ten vehicles with the lowest overall average number of problems reported on the 2010 study. And Mercury had two as well: the Mercury Milan and Mercury Montego.
Yes, the Montego. The Vehicle Dependability Study is based on information collected from owners of 2007 model-year products to provide a long-term look at reliability. This year’s study results were drawn from the input of more than 52,000 drivers, who were asked to describe any problems they’ve had with their vehicles over the previous year. The numbers are then converted to a “problems per 100 vehicles” score that is used to rank each product.
Notably, the study also showed that 25 of the 36 brands improved their performance compared to last year, with the industry as a whole improving dependability by 7 percent.
Among the biggest gainers were Porsche, which climbed 10 spots to get to its position as the No. 1 automaker, and Lincoln, which moved up six places in the rankings.
In addition to the Toyota products mentioned above, the other segment winners in Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study were:
Compact Multi Activity Vehicle (MAV): Honda CR-V
Compact Premium Sporty Car: BMW Z4
Compact Sporty Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Entry Premium Vehicle: Lincoln MKZ
Large Car: Mercury Montego
Large Premium Car: Cadillac DTS
Large Premium MAV: Lincoln Mark LT
Midsize Car: Buick LaCrosse
Midsize Pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Midsize Premium Car: Audi A6/S6
Midsize Premium MAV: Lexus GX 470
Midsize Sporty Car: Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Minivan: Ford Freestar
Premium Sporty Car: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
Sub Compact Car: Honda Fit
Of course, as with all subjective studies of this kind, a few large grains of NaCl are needed to help swallow these results. After all, more recent models of all four of the highest-ranked Toyotas, along with the Honda Fit, have already been struck by major recalls this year.
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