Are Audi and BMW the least reliable brands on the market?
Redacción
13 November 2017
2 min.
The discrepancy between two studies measuring the reliability of car brands has put the image of BMW and Audi on alert.
Audi has been chosen for the sixth consecutive time as the best European car brand, according to the Consumer Reports Reliability Survey 2017. In the survey that the prestigious American publication conducts each year among its readers, Audi reached fourth place in the overall ranking, ahead of all its European competitors. Despite this, a similar study carried out by the company J.D. Power, the competitor of Consumer Reports, claims the exact opposite: Audi and BMW would be the least reliable brands on the market according to this other study. Which of the two studies is right? And why is there such a big difference between the results obtained by one and the other?
Even though both studies, the one by Consumer Reports and the one by J.D. Power, measure reliability in a very similar way – both count the number of breakdowns vehicles suffer over a period of twelve months – the results obtained are completely opposite.
Consumer Reports: Audi is the fourth most reliable European brand, followed by BMW
| 2018 RANK | CHANGE FROM 2016 | BRAND | NO. OF MODELS | LEAST RELIABLE MODEL | AVERAGE RELIABILITY SCORE | MOST RELIABLE MODEL |
| ?§h47BMWh48§ | Toyota | Tacoma | 80 | 86 | ||
| ?§h65BMWh66§ | Lexus | GX | 77 | ES | ||
| ?§h83Mercedesh84§ | Kia | Sportage | 71 | Niro | ||
| — | Audi | A7 | 68 | Q3 | ||
| ?§h117Porscheh118§ | BMW | i3 | 62 | 2 Series | ||
| ?§h135Toyotah136§ | Subaru | Impreza | 60 | BRZ | ||
| ?§h153BMWh154§ | Infiniti | Q50 | 60 | Q70 | ||
| ?§h171Toyotah172§ | Buick | LaCrosse | 59 | Encore | ||
| ?§h189BMWh190§ | Honda | Ridgeline | 59 | CR-V | ||
| ?§h207Volkswagenh208§ | Hyundai | Tucson | 59 | Elantra | ||
| ?§h225Mercedesh226§ | Nissan | Sentra | 53 | Versa Note | ||
| ?§h243Lexush244§ | Mazda | CX-9 | 52 | |||
| ?§h261Volkswagenh262§ | Porsche | Cayenne | 50 | Macan | ||
| ?§h279Volkswagenh280§ | Mercedes-Benz | GLC | 47 | E-Class | ||
| ?§h297Volkswagenh298§ | Ford | Focus | 45 | Fusion | ||
| ?§h315Lexush316§ | Volkswagen | Golf | 44 | Passat | ||
| ?§h333Subaruh334§ | Chrysler | 300 | 41 | Pacifica | ||
| ?§h351Volkswagenh352§ | Chevrolet | Camaro | 39 | Bolt | ||
| ?§h369Hondah370§ | Acura | ILX | 38 | RDX | ||
| 20 | ?§h387Volkswagenh388§ | Jeep | Renegade | 38 | Cherokee< | |
| 21 | ?§h405Porscheh406§ | Tesla | Model X | 37 | Model S | |
| 22 | ?§h423Mercedesh424§ | Lincoln | MKX | 33 | MKZ | |
| 23 | ?§h441Porscheh442§ | Volvo | XC90 | 33 | V60 | |
| 24 | ?§h459Mercedesh460§ | Dodge | Journey | 32 | Grand Caravan | |
| 25 | ?§h477Porscheh478§ | Ram | 3500 | 30 | 1500 | |
| 26 | ?§h495Mercedesh496§ | GMC | Acadia | 28 | Sierra 2500HD | |
| 27 | ?§h513Lexush514§ | Cadillac | Escalade | 26 | CTS< |
J.D. Power: Audi and BMW are the least reliable brands on the market
As we can see in the tables above, Consumer Reports places Toyota and Lexus as the most reliable brands, with Audi and BMW as the fourth and fifth most recommendable in this respect, which in turn positions them as the most reliable European brands. On the contrary, Audi and BMW are at the very bottom of the list compiled by J.D. Power. According to this study, the German firms record per every 100 vehicles an average of 187 (Audi) and 198 (BMW) breakdowns per year, a very high figure considering that the industry average is set at 131 breakdowns.
Which of the two is right?
It is difficult to know. In any case, the results of these studies should be taken as indicative only, and under no circumstances should they determine the decision to buy a car if you are torn between two brands. Both BMW and Audi have proven to have very reliable cars throughout their history.
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