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The Most Reliable Car Brands And Why Subaru Only Gets An Honorable Mention

Which car brands are the most reliable? See where Subaru ranks with the big automakers and where the Forester, Outback, and Crosstrek are in the most reliable models list.

Are Subaru vehicles reliable? A new report from iSeeCars says the Subaru brand gets the number one spot, but only for an honorable mention. The report reveals the car brands with the largest percentage of cars with over 200,000 miles are Toyota (2.0%), Honda (1.6%), Chevrolet (1.5%), Cadillac (1.5%), GMC (1.4%), and Ford (1.4%).

The Subaru brand does not show up until number 8 on the most recent Cars Most Likely to Reach 200,000 Miles by car brand list. Subaru ranks 0.6 percent of their vehicles, reaching the 200K mile mark, below the average of all auto brands at 1.0 percent.

2022 Subaru Forester, 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback
photo credit: Competition Subaru

Subaru gets an iSeeCars honorable mention

The iSeeCars study says. "Earning an honorable mention is Subaru, known for its safe vehicles and brand loyalty among customers. The Subaru Outback and Subaru Forester rank highly for long-term reliability, and the brand scores above average for value retention."

The extended mileage studies can be misleading because Subaru has fewer vehicle offerings (nine models) than any car brand giving the big automakers an advantage. Toyota has thirty-six models in its lineup, Ford has thirty-four offerings, making it much easier with many more models to hit the 200,000-mile mark. The same is true for Honda, Chevrolet, and GMC with their extensive vehicle lineups.

2022 Subaru Forester, 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback

Subaru ranks in the top 25% of automakers in Consumer Reports' latest testing

According to a recent 2021 study from Consumer Reports, out of twenty-eight automakers in the U.S. market, Subaru scores number seven overall in predicted reliability, putting them at the top 25% of the most reliable car brands category. You can read the complete report here.

Which Subaru models are the most reliable?

2022 Subaru Forester, 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback

The latest CR report says the Subaru Crosstrek subcompact SUV and Forester compact SUV have better than average reliability. In the iSeeCars recent most-reliable SUVs, the Subaru Outback scores the number three most reliable small SUV, and CR ranks the 2022 Outback number one overall of eleven midsize SUVs.

The Subaru brand has reliable all-wheel-drive SUVs in several studies. The Subaru Crosstrek subcompact SUV, with the highest score, is Subaru of America's hottest-selling model, and the Subaru Forester has improved the most from last year's scores. The Subaru Outback also scores high in recent reliability scores.

You Might Also Like: 5 Reasons Why Subaru Outback, Forester Score The Best New SUVs In Snow

Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Subaru USA

Comments

Ian Robertson (not verified)    November 18, 2021 - 8:38PM

Are you not mixing up a vehicle being long lasting versus reliable? A vehicle could well have lasted >200,000 miles and yet have broken down 5 x more than one that didn't

asc (not verified)    November 19, 2021 - 7:34AM

Subarus live different lives than many of those other cars, which are fleet-use sorts of vehicles or get the same mundane odometer rolling equivalent.

Mine have lead notable service lives that have sealed my brand loyalty, always exceeding expectations. Can't same the same about the others.

Dave (not verified)    November 19, 2021 - 9:29AM

If we're talking about percentage of cars reaching 200,000 miles, taking about other makes that have more models to offer is a bit misleading. Yes, having more cars gives a chance to have more cars still on the road at 200,000 miles, but percentage is percentage, it doesn't matter how many total models or cars there are. I like my Forester and the outback it replaced had just over 200,000 when the head gasket went and someone else bought it. 1 car out of 100 is the same as 1,000 out of 100,000.

Ian Robertson (not verified)    November 19, 2021 - 11:16AM

I have a Subaru 2019 Ascent which frankly I adore! My point was that inferring that a vehicle was reliable simply because it had been driven a certain number of miles is completely illogical.

I drove Mercedes when I lived in Europe and Honda for 20 years in Texas.... and then I discovered the Ascent which is just as well because I now live in Canada. I doubt if I will ever go back to another brand now.

Paul (not verified)    November 20, 2021 - 8:39AM

Well here's one for you then

5 years later, 2018 Forrester xt only oil changes and basic maintenance coming up on 100k

So far reliable, and I literally have climbed many mountains...

NMK (not verified)    November 21, 2021 - 10:40PM

Considering this rating is percentage based it makes no difference if a brand sells 100 different vehicle models or 2. A percent is a percent. Im curious as to what sense it makes to say subaru rates lower as a percentage because they offer fewer models...?