Subaru replaces BMW in Consumer Reports’ 2025 Brand Ratings

In an industry that’s constantly chasing the next great thing, sometimes the real winners are those who stick with what works. Consumer Reports released its annual brand rankings earlier this year, and Subaru topped the list, followed by BMW and Lexus. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Jeep ranks last, with Rivian and Land Rover also at the bottom.

More: Stellantis and Tesla hit rock bottom in CR used car brand reliability rankings

The 2025 Automotive Report Card includes rankings for new and used cars. To recommend the best options to consumers, the nonprofit considers key factors such as reliability, owner satisfaction, maintenance costs, safety and road-test performance for each model and automaker.

Subaru takes the top spot

For the first time ever, Subaru overtook BMW, which had held the top spot for the past two years. Not only did the Japanese brand take home the title, it also topped Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings, even surpassing long-time reliability champions Toyota and Lexus.

Not surprisingly, Asian manufacturers dominate this year’s top ten, taking seven of the coveted spots. Subaru leads the way (1), followed by Lexus (3), Honda (5), Kia (7), Hyundai (8), Toyota (9) and Infiniti (10). The German team also performed well, with BMW (2), Porsche (4) and Audi (6) leading the way. However, there are conspicuously no American brands on the list of automotive excellence.

Consumer Reports Overall Brand Rankings 2025

Detroit’s fight continues

Most domestic manufacturers are struggling to succeed. Chrysler jumped eight spots to 16th, making it the highest-ranked domestic brand but still dwarfed by foreign rivals. Tesla (18), Ford (19), Cadillac (21), Lincoln (24), Chevrolet (24), Dodge (28), GMC (29), Rivian (31) and Jeep (32) have no domestic teams Entering the top ten.

According to Consumer Reports, the Detroit Three have been hampered by reliability issues, especially with popular models like the Ford F-150 Hybrid, F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Blazer EV, which is hardly what you would expect from a car with great performance. Brand expectations. Been in the game for over a century.

Jeep and Rivian: In Trouble

Jeep (32) has been a long-term underperformer and remains at the bottom of the rankings for the second year in a row. While the brand still shines with its rugged appeal, its reliability and road test scores remain disappointing.

The Rivian, a newcomer to the EV scene, ranks just above Jeep at No. 31, largely due to its troubling reliability scores. Despite strong performance in overall customer satisfaction, particularly in areas such as comfort, driving pleasure, in-car storage, usability and cost of ownership, Rivian’s struggles with reliability remain a significant hurdle. To make matters worse, we’ve encountered numerous owners complaining about long wait times and difficulty getting service appointments in forums and threads, which certainly doesn’t help the brand’s case.

Seven brands failed to earn a single recommendation from Consumer Reports this year: Lincoln, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, GMC, Land Rover, Rivian and Jeep. All of these brands ranked near the bottom, with CR advising buyers to “consider carefully before buying from these manufacturers.”

Jake Fisher, senior director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, had a pretty blunt assessment of the rankings. talking automotive news he pointed out:

“The more you change, the more mistakes you make. When you see an automaker like Toyota or Subaru that really stays the course, makes incremental changes, and already has good competitive products, they’re really prepared to do It’s been pretty good. Other automakers have swung quite a bit — there’s new platforms, new powertrains — and that’s where you end up with reliability issues.”