Mazda Named Most Reliable Brand For 2022 By Consumer Reports

In its newest rankings, Consumer Reports Mazda scores highest overall in the auto industry in reliability.

Mazda has displaced Lexus and Toyota as the brand with the highest reliability according to Consumer Reports. This ranking is not based on the opinions of Consumer Reports' excellent testing staff, but rather, the actual owners of vehicles. Consumer Reports judges reliability based on owner survey responses.

Mazda’s top-selling vehicle, the CX-5 crossover, has earned scores of 4 or 5 on Consumer Report reliability every year since 2013. In 7 of those years, the vehicle earned the highest possible score. The legendary Miata has never earned a score lower than 4 and has eight model years with a perfect score of 5. Mazda’s largest vehicle, its CX-9 three-row crossover earned a score of 5 for the past two years and has a predicted reliability for 2022 of 5 as well.

Poll: Most Mazda CX-5 Buyers Report Paying Less Than MSRP

Mazda’s reliability score on JD Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study jumped two places this year as well, putting Mazda above average on that quality ranking scale.

Mazda is facing reliability headwinds this year. Two significant recalls may skew its core for next year. First, Mazda’s turbocharged engines are now consuming oil, and Mazda isn’t sure why. Second, Like Subaru and Toyota, Mazda has a widescale recall related to defective fuel pumps.

Subaru edged out Mazda in Consumer Reports’ overall brand rankings for 2022. Mazda was first last year, but this year is ranked second.

For more details on Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings, members can check out the summary page on the group’s website or dive deep into individual model reports by model year.

Repair shop image courtesy of Mazda.

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's interest in EVs goes back to 1990 when he designed the thermal control system for an EV battery as part of an academic team. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, John completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers, in the semiconductor industry, and in biotech. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American news outlets and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on TikTok @ToknCars, on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin

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