Fiat finished last in Consumer Reports latest brand report card with the magazine failing to recommend any of its vehicles.
Buying a new vehicle requires consumers to be cognizant of more than if their favorite crossover is available in their favorite color. Pricing, safety, technology and a myriad of other factors play critical roles in the final decision.
If you’re spending big money on a new car, truck or utility vehicle – and since the average price of a new vehicle is more than $34k, you are – quality is likely to be at or near the top of the list. Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways to find out how “good” your prospective buy may be, including Consumer Reports’ annual Brand Report Card.
The leaders in automotive quality are fairly well known and don’t seem to change too much from year to year. This year, the top two best makers were Audi and Subaru, according to the magazine. They were followed by Lexus, Porsche, and BMW in the top five.
Mazda came in sixth with the magazine recommending all of Mazda’s vehicles. A domestic brand did make the top 10: Buick captured seventh place on the list. The rest, in order, were: Toyota, Kia and Honda.
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However, with more than 30 auto brands available in the U.S., it’s probably better to be well acquainted with the duds in the group when looking to buy a new vehicle. Good news: the magazine has its bottom 10 as well.
On the list are a few surprises, but its largely composed of golden oldies: the brands everyone knows suffer from quality issues. At the bottom of the list was … Fiat. Derisively known as “Fix It Again Tony” in many circles, the brand has been stationed at the bottom of the list since it returned to the U.S. several years ago.
The magazine did not recommend a single Fiat model, and it received the worst possible rating for predicted reliability. It marks an unfortunate trend for Fiat Chrysler on the list: its brand garnered four of the bottom six spots on the list.
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Mitsubishi was third-worst on the list. The only upside for its review is that despite getting no recommendations for any of its vehicles, it earned an average predicted reliability rating.
The only European brand on the “worst” list was Land Rover. An aspirational brand known for its luxury appointments and rugged performance, it that it earned a terrible rating for predicted reliability. The British marque didn’t have a single model in its line-up recommended by Consumer Reports.
The rest of the list featured Cadillac, GMC, Nissan and Infiniti: none of which could get more than 33% of its vehicle recommend by the magazine. This is the ninth year the magazine has been putting together the ratings and reason is pretty simple, according to Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports director of automotive testing.
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“It’s not enough to make cars that drive and handle well,” he noted. “Consumers are best served when those vehicles are also highly reliable and safe.”