Buying a Car: Are Japanese Cars More Reliable?
Buying a Car: Are Japanese Cars More Reliable?
Car News
If you’re interested in buying a car, reliability is most likely on your mind. And if that’s the case, you’re most likely seeking out Japanese vehicles, which are generally thought to be more reliable than cars from other countries. But is that indeed true? To find out, we examined three different J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Studies — from 2008, two thousand ten and 2013. The studies look back three years to see which cars have the fewest issues.
If you’re looking for a compact car, should your default choice be a Japanese brand? J.D. Power’s data suggests so.
This year’s explore, for example, named three winners among compact cars: the Toyota Prius, the Ford Concentrate and the Mazda3. Only the Concentrate is American-made, while the Mazda3 and Prius are both Japanese. The result is similar in the two thousand ten explore, where the Japanese-made Toyota Prius once again topped the compact charts, this time just ahead of the Japanese Toyota Corolla. The American-made Pontiac Vibe finished third. The two thousand eight examine had a similar result. In other words, according to J.D. Power, Japanese compact cars tend to be a cut above their non-Japanese rivals.
Midsize Sedans
For many people, the default choice for a midsize sedan is a Japanese car like the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord — largely due to perceptions of dependability and quality. But are they truly the best? In this case, the J.D. Power data suggests otherwise.
This year’s explore, which looks at two thousand ten models, says the most reliable midsize car is actually the Korean-built Hyundai Sonata. In 2nd place is the American-brand Ford Fusion, while the U.S.-built Buick LaCrosse comes in third. The two thousand ten explore, which examines two thousand seven models, offers a similar conclusion: The Buick LaCrosse tops the midsize list, with the American-made Mercury Milan ending 2nd. The Japanese Honda Accord is in third place. The two thousand eight examine yields harshly the same results.
Crossovers and SUVs
Reliability results are strongly in favor of Japanese brands if you’re interested in a crossover or SUV. In this year’s J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Examine, for example, Japanese brands took home two of the three top catches sight of among the most popular SUV segments. The Japanese-brand Toyota RAV4 and Honda Crosstour won for best compact SUV and midsize SUV respectively, while the American-made Chevrolet Tahoe topped the large SUV category.
In the two thousand eight and two thousand ten studies, Japanese brands predominated SUV categories. Honda and Toyota models earned the top catches sight of in almost every category, suggesting that Japanese SUVs suggest the best in reliability and dependability.
Fresh Cars
And what if you’re searching for a fresh car instead of a used model? To find out, we checked this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Explore, which examines problems within the very first three months of ownership.
Interestingly, non-Japanese brands seem to do better here. The investigate was topped by German automaker Porsche, with American brand GMC and Japanese brand Lexus close behind. By segment, American automaker Chevrolet received the most awards with five total. Japanese brands Mazda and Honda tied Porsche and Korean automaker Kia for 2nd place with two awards apiece.
We’re not sure if this data suggests that non-Japanese brands are getting better, or if it instead means that Japanese cars hold up longer. But one thing is for certain: Studies typically showcase that Japanese cars tend to be more reliable than American or European models. That isn’t always the case, but it’s true often enough that we’d suggest strongly considering a Japanese vehicle if your top concern when buying a car is reliability — and especially if you’re considering a used vehicle.