There’s a longstanding belief that Japan builds the most reliable cars in the auto industry, and many modern studies continue to bear that out. For example, in the 2025 Consumer Reports honor roll of brands with the best reliability, the top six names were all Japanese: Subaru, Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Acura, and Mazda led the way, in that order. The results were particularly impressive for that first company, as we discovered when we looked at the data on how reliable Subarus are. The results from this year’s J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability spread the top honors further, geographically, but Lexus was number one here, too, with Mazda and Toyota ranked third and fourth. (As for the number two brand, well, you may be surprised at how reliable new Buicks are.)
Many folks chalk this success up to a Japanese manufacturing philosophy known as “kaizen,” which became popular with automakers like Toyota in the years after World War II. The word means “continuous improvement” and here refers to the idea of everyone in the company pulling together to make ongoing small enhancements to their vehicles with a goal of having a large overall effect on quality.
But here’s the thing: While many vehicles from Japan-based automakers do perform well on today’s reliability studies, so do those from other countries’ brands. So it might be better to say that, overall, Japan still makes the most-reliable cars in most classes, but the leaders in some different segments now come from different countries.
Does Japan make the most reliable trucks?
Consider the pickup segment, where the Toyota Tundra finished near the very bottom of the predicted reliability rankings, behind the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500, and Ram 1500. The Nissan Titan is dead, remember, with the company saying in 2024 that it would focus on EVs instead. Meanwhile, in the Vehicle Dependability Study — which takes into account three years of data and this time features vehicles from the 2022 — the only full-size pickups to even qualify for “Most Dependable” status were the Silverado/Sierra siblings.
In the midsize segment, the Ford Ranger checked in with the best predicted reliability. And to be clear, the Ranger more than doubled the reliability scores of the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, which also trailed the South Korean Hyundai Santa Cruz. The Honda Ridgeline is the only recommended truck in its class, yet it trailed the Ranger as well. Note that the Tacoma was considered the most-dependable midsize pickup by the J.D. Power team. J.D Power further takes into account heavy-duty pickups, unlike both CR and the Japanese brands. In this class, it again chose the Silverado/Sierra range as segment leaders for dependability.
Other CR segments with non-Japanese reliability leaders
Cherry-picking from the CR results turns up a few other vehicle classes where Japan trails the rest of the world for reliability, starting with luxury cars opening above $40,000. The leader in this segment was perhaps unexpected, and it does show up one other area in which the Japanese brands haven’t yet found their footing. We’re talking about the all-electric BMW i4 that bested both EVs and gas-powered cars — from Lexus, among others — for reliability. The i4 also won the best luxury EV segment, where a Japanese presence is sorely lacking. At the same time, CR predicted the Audi A4 would have the highest reliability of any luxury compact cars, with its fastback version, the Audi A5, right behind — and both ahead of rivals such as the Lexus IS and Acura TLX.
Nor did CR’s most reliable minivan come from a Japanese automaker. After updates to make what we called the best minivan even better, the Kia Carnival has likewise ascended to the top of the leaderboard for predicted reliability. Moreover, CR tested both the standard Carnival and the hybrid version separately, and both configurations clocked in with better scores for predicted reliability than the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna.
Which Japanese SUVs are most reliable?
If you’re looking for a vehicle that truly carries the flame for Japanese auto reliability, look no further than the Subaru Forester and Forester Hybrid. Listed separately, but with the same reliability numbers, the Foresters not only led their segments, they posted some of the highest scores even possible in CR’s proprietary testing.
Amazingly, when CR tried to identify potential trouble spots for the Forester, owners couldn’t find any. Based on their survey responses, the Forester achieved perfect grades in every single category, from in-car electronics to engine/transmission to the kind of simple noises and leaks that can drive owners crazy. Five flavors of the RAV4 — which is goes hybrid-only for Toyota in 2026 — and two of the Mazda CX5, were the second and third nameplates for predicted reliability among compact SUVs.
The Japanese brands also showcased especially strong predicted reliability in subcompact and midsize SUVs. Turning first to subcompacts, four of the five highest-ranked rides for reliability were Japanese, with the Subaru Crosstrek at number one and the third-place Chevy Trax as the one non-Japanese model in the mix. The Toyota Crown Signia proved the top-ranked midsizer, followed by seven more models from brands based in Japan.
The most reliable cars from Japan
Japan began finding success in the U.S. with its small cars, and they’re still known for being great choices backed by impressive reliability. This year, for instance, Japanese brands were responsible for eight of the top 10 compacts as ranked by CR’s predicted reliability score. The Subaru Impreza secured the highest rating, with the Toyota Corolla and Corolla hatchback tied for second — and Corolla as a whole getting the nod for dependability in its class from J.D. Power. The Hyundai Elentra hybrid held down the fourth place from CR, but it was followed by another run of seven Japanese models, including the Toyota Prius, Mazda3, Nissan Sentra, and Honda Civic.
Finally, while Hyundai — which finished 10th overall in CR’s list of most reliable brands — showed its stuff in the midsize segment, where the Hyundai Sonata/Sonata Hybrid ranked highest, Japan filled out the top five with the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Camry holding down the slots three through five. (Which is further proof that it’s time the Altima got some respect.) Second place? That went to the Subaru Legacy that’s now in its last year. But you can bet this won’t be the last time Japan shows up well for predicted reliability.
AloJapan.com