Subaru has been named top automaker in Consumer Reports’ annual report on quality. Honda Motor Co., a company that topped the influential annual report card for the last four years, slipped to fourth place, while Mazda and Chrysler showed the biggest gains.
Honda was hurt by problems with several redesigned models, including the Civic small car and Odyssey minivan. Those models scored lower than the popular earlier versions they replaced.
Subaru earned the top score of 75 points for the first time in the influential consumer buying guide’s 2012 report, followed by Mazda (74 points) and Toyota (73 points).
“While Japanese automakers still hold the top five spots, their lead is shrinking,” David Champion, senior director for the magazine’s automotive test centre, said in a statement. “In some of Honda’s and Toyota’s recently redesigned models, cost cutting has become noticeable.”
Surveys by Consumer Reports are used heavily in auto industry marketing and are seen as influential in shaping consumer perceptions.
Mazda showed the most dramatic improvement, climbing from seventh place last year and increasing its overall score by nine points. It was helped by shedding two low-scoring models, Consumer Reports said.
Although Chrysler remained in last place, its overall score jumped eight points to 51, making it the second most improved automaker due to extensively redesigned vehicles, Consumer Reports said.
Ford Motor Co, on the other hand, dropped the farthest, from fifth place last year to 10th place in the 2012 report. While the U.S. automaker’s road-test score rose by two points, Ford’s rating was hurt by consumer complaints about the complexity of touch-screen navigation and radio controls in the MyFord Touch system.
Volvo, at 64 points in sixth place, earned the best grade of any of the European brands tested.
Nissan was fifth (67 points), Hyundai and BMW both finished with 63 points and Volkswagen had 62 points. The other automakers tested were Mercedes-Benz (58 points) and General Motors (56 points).
The complete Consumer Reports report is available at www.consumerreports.org.
