Veteran automotive engineer David Chao has named Subaru and Mazda as the two most reliable car brands, placing them at the top of his rankings ahead of well-known names such as Porsche, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. With more than 35 years in the industry, Chao assessed a range of major car makers and graded them from most dependable to least.
Top Grades for Japanese Marques
Subaru and Mazda were the only brands awarded an elite "S" grade at the top of the rankings. Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, and Honda all landed in the "A" band, just below the top spot.
Chao said Subaru is relatively small, which means it has to "borrow capability" from Toyota. He rated its product development a "solid A, maybe A minus," noting it is taking Subaru "a long time" to build that capability on its own and that it still has to "rely" on Toyota. Even so, he said Subaru's manufacturing and quality have been "really good," describing the brand as "very reliable."
Mazda's Manufacturing Praised
Speaking to auto consultant Shari Prymak on the Car Help Corner YouTube channel, Chao said of Mazda: "If you look at the manufacturing, their capability, it's actually one of the best in the world. Their system, the process, their equipment and design is unlike any other manufacturing that Toyota or Honda have."
He said its manufacturing and engineering capability is "probably the best in the world," and that he would "give it S for super good." He stressed, though, that it does not always "translate to long-term reliability." He also said Mazda lacks the scale of Toyota or Honda to "pump out a lot of cars."
Other Brands Ranked
Chao said Mitsubishi co-shares "a lot of things" with close partner Nissan but has become "more independent" in recent years, and he believes Mitsubishi's engineering group is "better." He added that Mitsubishi engineers "spend more time getting it right," describing them as "passionate" about their products.
He said Porsche has "tremendous manufacturing engineering capability" but is still somewhat "hampered" by its parent company, Volkswagen. Even so, he rated the brand highly for both manufacturing capability and long-term reliability.
The "B" tier included Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and BMW. The "C" category comprised Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Ford, and Tesla. At the bottom of the table, Stellantis was the only manufacturer placed in "D." General Motors is the parent company of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac, while Stellantis oversees Citroën, Vauxhall, Fiat, Peugeot, and Jeep.
