European Vehicles Unreliable

An annual survey carried out by US magazine, Consumer Reports, has found that when it comes to car and truck reliability, European produced vehicles are worst; US mixed, with Asian brands topping the table.

Consumer Reports’ New Car Preview 2005, surveyed 5 million American car and truck owners, questioning them about any problems they had had in the preceding three years. Based on these results, the magazine makes predictions about the reliability of 2005 models that are due to hit US showrooms this year. The publication also awards vehicles with “most reliable” and “least reliable” depending on how they perform.

Of the 32 vehicles considered most reliable, 29 were manufactured in Japan, the report found. Toyota was seen as the leader with 16 models included in this category. Honda had seven models on the most reliable list with General Motors was the only US company that appeared on the list.

In total there were 38 models that were described as unreliable, 20 of these were European, while 13 were produced by American companies. Only five of the “least reliable” models were Asian in origin. Some of the least reliable vehicles were well known “quality” brands including Jaguar X-Type, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

According to David Champion, Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing explained that the reason for the European manufacturers poor showing was largely down to unreliable electrical and power systems. Compared with the simpler design of the Japanese systems, “Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar tend to come out with the latest features more so than other manufacturers do,” he commented.