Lexus once again tops dependability study

NEW YORK (AP) - August 7, 2008 It's the 14th straight year the high-end brand owned by Toyota has held the highest ranking, though last year it shared the top spot with Buick, which is down to sixth place this year.

The study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years.

Ford Motor Company's Mercury brand ranked second, followed by General Motors' Cadillac.

Land Rover, which Ford sold this year to an Indian company, was the worst-performing brand.

Overall, the industry average shows another year of improvement. What's more, the types of problems reported are trending to what are considered "soft" problems.

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Top performers and runners-up in each category. An MAV, or multi-activity vehicle, refers to sport utility vehicles and crossovers.

Sub-Compact Car

• Highest ranked: Hyundai Accent
  
• Runners-up: Scion xA, Chevrolet Aveo
  

Compact Car

• Highest ranked: Toyota Prius
  
• Runners-up: Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla
  

Compact Sporty Car

• Highest ranked: Mazda Miata
  
• Runners-up: Toyota Celica, Subaru Outback Sport
  

Midsize Sporty Car

• Highest ranked: Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  
• Runners-up: Toyota Camry Solara Coupe/Convertible, Mitsubishi Eclipse
  

Midsize Car

• Highest ranked: Buick Century
  
• Runners-up: Mercury Sable, Toyota Camry Sedan
  

Large Car

• Highest ranked: Ford Crown Victoria
  
• Runners-up: Mercury Grand Marquis, Buick Park Avenue
  

Compact Premium Sporty Car

• Highest ranked: Honda S2000
  
• Runners-up: BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster (tie)
  

Entry Premium Vehicle

• Highest ranked: Lexus IS 300/IS 300 SportCross
  
• Runners-up: BMW 3 Series, BMW X3
  

Midsize Premium Car

• Highest ranked: Lexus ES 330
  
• Runners-up: Lexus GS 300/GS 430, Acura RL
  

Large Premium Car

• Highest ranked: Lexus LS 430
  
• Runners-up: Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DeVille
  

Premium Sporty Car

• Highest ranked: Lexus SC 430
  
• Runners-up: Ford Thunderbird, Porsche 911
  

Compact MAV

• Highest ranked: Honda Element, Toyota RAV4 (tie)
  
• Runner-up: Honda CR-V
  

Midsize MAV

• Highest ranked: Toyota Highlander
  
• Runners-up: Buick Rainier, Mercury Mountaineer
  

Large MAV

• Highest ranked: Toyota Sequoia
  
• Runners-up: Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Excursion
  

Large Pickup

• Highest ranked: Toyota Tundra
  
• Runners-up: Ford F-150 LD, Dodge Ram Pickup LD
  

Midsize Pickup

• Highest ranked: Ford Ranger
  
• Runners-up: Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Dakota
  

Van

• Highest ranked: Mercury Monterey
  
• Runners-up: Ford E-Series, GMC Savana
  

Midsize Premium MAV

• Highest ranked: Lexus GX 470
  
• Runners-up: Lexus RX 330, Volvo XC70
  

Large Premium MAV

• Highest ranked: Lexus LX 470
  
• Runners-up: Cadillac Escalade EXT, Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV

The list ranks vehicle brands by the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles:

Brand Problems per 100 vehicles
Lexus 120
Mercury 151
Cadillac 155
Toyota 159
Acura 160
Buick 163
BMW 164
Lincoln 165
Honda 177
Jaguar 178
Porsche 193
Mitsubishi 197
Hyundai 200
Ford 204
Infiniti 204

INDUSTRY AVERAGE 206

Audi 207
Mercedes-Benz 215
Nissan 224
Pontiac 225
GMC 226
Mazda 228
Subaru 228
Chrysler 229
Dodge 230
Mini 233
Chevrolet 239
Hummer 241
Scion 243
Volvo 244
Saturn 250
Jeep 253
Volkswagen 253
Saab 254
Isuzu 274
Kia 278
Suzuki 302
Land Rover 344