Car Reliability Rankings 2010 - The Best Small Cars
One
of the most important criteria, if not the most important criterion, of
automobile quality is reliability, that is, infrequency of serious
problems, as few people want the annoyance, inconvenience, and expense
of dealing with such problems.
This
article provides lists employing this criterion that will help guide
consumers to the best small cars on the U.S. new and used car market.
The lists in this article
include automobile models that are 180 inches (457.2 centimeters) or
shorter in length. They include sedans, coupes, convertibles,
hatchbacks, and wagons, but do not include sport cars. They also exclude
those models with only a one-year data history, as a one-year data
history may provide a poor guide of what a consumer may anticipate for
more than one year.
The first list gives those small car models with a 2010 Auto Reliability Grade Point Average between 3.25 and a perfect 4.00 for the age range 0-to-4 years. These small cars are:
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a 2010 0-to-4-Year Auto Reliability GPA of a perfect 4.00,
The Toyota Yaris Hatchback, with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xD, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Fit, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Insight, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion tC, a coupe with a GPA of 3.75,
The Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, a 2-door and 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.67,
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The non-turbo Subaru Impreza Wagon, with a GPA of 3.50,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 3.33,
The Ford Focus Sedan, with a GPA of 3.25,
The Hyundai Elantra, a sedan or wagon with a GPA of 3.25.
The Toyota Yaris Hatchback, with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xD, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Fit, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Insight, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion tC, a coupe with a GPA of 3.75,
The Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, a 2-door and 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.67,
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The non-turbo Subaru Impreza Wagon, with a GPA of 3.50,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 3.33,
The Ford Focus Sedan, with a GPA of 3.25,
The Hyundai Elantra, a sedan or wagon with a GPA of 3.25.
Of
these 16, Toyota Motor Corporation accounts for 8 (50%), Honda Motor
Company accounts for 4 (25%), and Volkswagen AG, Fuji Heavy Industries'
Subaru division, Ford Motor Company, and Hyundai Motor Company each
account for 1.
The second list
gives those small car models with a 2010 Auto Reliability Grade Point
Average between 3.25 and a perfect 4.00 for the age range 2-to-6 years. These small cars are:
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a 2010 2-to-6-Year Auto Reliability GPA of a perfect 4.00,
The Toyota Echo, a 2-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Yaris Hatchback, with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Fit, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, a 2-door and 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.75,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.67,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300,IS350, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 3.50,
General Motors Corporation's Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), a wagon with a GPA of 3.50,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion tC, a coupe with a GPA of 3.33,
The non-turbo Subaru Impreza Wagon, with a GPA of 3.25.
The Toyota Echo, a 2-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Yaris Hatchback, with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Fit, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit, a 2-door and 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.75,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.67,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300,IS350, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 3.50,
General Motors Corporation's Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), a wagon with a GPA of 3.50,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion tC, a coupe with a GPA of 3.33,
The non-turbo Subaru Impreza Wagon, with a GPA of 3.25.
Of
these 15, Toyota Motor Corporation accounts for 10 (67%) (including the
Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), Honda Motor Company accounts
for 3 (20%), and Volkswagen AG and Fuji Heavy Industries' Subaru
division each account for 1.
The
third list gives those small car models with a 2010 Auto Reliability
Grade Point Average between 3.25 and a perfect 4.00 for the age range 4-to-8 years. These small cars are:
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a 2010 4-to-8-Year Auto Reliability GPA of a perfect 4.00,
The Toyota Echo, a 2-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 4.00,
General Motors Corporation's Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Si, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.33,
The Mitsubishi Lancer, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.33.
The Toyota Echo, a 2-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xB, a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 4.00,
General Motors Corporation's Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), a wagon with a GPA of 4.00,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
The Honda Civic Hybrid, a sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Scion xA, a 4-door hatchback with a GPA of 3.50,
The Honda Civic Si, a sedan with a GPA of 3.50,
The Toyota Matrix, a wagon with a GPA of 3.33,
The Mitsubishi Lancer, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.33.
Of
these 12, Toyota Motor Corporation accounts for 8 (50%) (including the
Toyota-engineered product marketed by GM), Honda Motor Company accounts
for 3 (25%), and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation accounts for 1.
The
fourth list gives those small car models with a 2010 Auto Reliability
Grade Point Average between 3.25 and a perfect 4.00 for the age range 6-to-10 years. These venerable, durable small cars are:
The Toyota Echo, a 2-door hatchback and sedan with a 2010 6-to-10-Year Auto Reliability GPA of a perfect 4.00,
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
The Honda Civic Si, a coupe and sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
The Honda Insight, a 2-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 3.50.
Of these 7, Toyota Motor Corporation accounts for 4 (57%)
The Toyota Prius, a 4-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 4.00,
The Honda Civic Sedan, with a GPA of 4.00,
The Toyota Corolla, a sedan with a GPA of 3.75,
Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus IS300, a 4-door hatchback and sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
The Honda Civic Si, a coupe and sedan with a GPA of 3.67,
The Honda Insight, a 2-door hybrid hatchback with a GPA of 3.50.