Consumer Reports releases 2013 reliability rankings

[Rogue One]

Dunno how I missed this. Although I stopped relying on CR last century, it's still interesting.

The only two Japanese brands not to finish in the top 10 this year were Scion, the top brand in 2012 but No. 11 this year, and Nissan, which fell nine spots to No. 22 this year.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2013102 ... z2o4Iw8vrr

[gwoods]

Where did Jaguar end up this year?

Mine has not had a repair in 2013? It did eat a set of tires, pads and rotors and about 2 quarts of oil. Everything but the tires were courtesy of Jaguar.

[Rogue One]

The most unreliable models
Because of insufficient data, Consumer Reports did not rank five brands: Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mitsubishi and Tesla.

The worst score goes to the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid, with the regular C-Max Hybrid not faring much better. To be clear, this should not cast a negative light on other electric cars or hybrids. In fact, the Toyota Prius, Lexus ES 300h, Toyota Prius C, and Honda CR-Z hybrids, along with the pure-electric Nissan Leaf, were among the top models in reliability. This is more of a Ford issue.

[Loki]

CR really has a hard on for Ford, and I don't think it is all justified. I drive a 2.0L EcoBoost nearly everyday and have the dreaded MyFordTouch; I feel the engine is wonderful, and MFT is no worse than any other infotainment system. It's a far cry from using a tablet, but I have no major complaints.

[gwoods]

The most unreliable models
Because of insufficient data, Consumer Reports did not rank five brands: Jaguar

Nice to drive a niche vehicle I see another XF about twice a month.... everyonce ina while its supercharged. I didn't buy a Mercedes E63 because the backseat was smaller and there is a E350/E500 at every single light

[Rogue One]

Well, not to burst your bubble, but I noticed you've got a 2011 so I tried to look it up. CR's 2012 reliability rating placed Jaguar 28th out of 28.

[gwoods]

I got the one good one :-)

[Bubba1]

CR really has a hard on for Ford, and I don't think it is all justified. I drive a 2.0L EcoBoost nearly everyday and have the dreaded MyFordTouch; I feel the engine is wonderful, and MFT is no worse than any other infotainment system. It's a far cry from using a tablet, but I have no major complaints.

If you read CR, you'll find most modern Ford test scores are competitive. The 2000 pound gorilla in the room is that "dreaded" MyFordBadTouch you mentioned. According to it's owner surveys, MFT continues to be so problematic that it ruins its overall reliability ratings. That's more of a case of Ford not fixing it correctly than a testing bias.

[MinisterofDOOM]

A big problem with MyFordTouch was that Ford allowed Microsoft to be involved in the design. Microsoft has spent the last 17 years proving that they have no idea how touchscreen interfaces are supposed to work. They're famous for taking great hardware and crippling it with awkward, clunky, functionally impaired operating systems.

But, then, the really frustrating thing is that we have to put up with touchscreen interfaces in our cars AT ALL. Buttons and nobs, folks. They have never let me down. Actually, that's not true. Ford even manages to @#$% up knobs half the time, too.

I'm not sure what my point here is. Carry on. I love my Ford, I hate most of its controls.

[Loki]

A big problem with MyFordTouch was that Ford allowed Microsoft to be involved in the design. Microsoft has spent the last 17 years proving that they have no idea how touchscreen interfaces are supposed to work. They're famous for taking great hardware and crippling it with awkward, clunky, functionally impaired operating systems.

But, then, the really frustrating thing is that we have to put up with touchscreen interfaces in our cars AT ALL. Buttons and nobs, folks. They have never let me down. Actually, that's not true. Ford even manages to @#$% up knobs half the time, too.

I'm not sure what my point here is. Carry on. I love my Ford, I hate most of its controls.

I think the ultimate folly is the capacitive switches on the center stack of high trim Fusions and MKZs. They look ugly, and have none of the functionality of true buttons and knobs. Truly dreadful, and I find myself having to wait until I can pull over or stop just to change the cabin temp, or fan speed. Thankfully that is changing.

My Focus has a pretty decent control scheme. The control I use most often (skip song) is right on the steering wheel where my right thumb is. Temp is controlled by a knob, fan speed by two up/down buttons (although I admit it takes too much effort for these two buttons to register a response). Most of the stuff that is locked into the touch screen is the stuff I would ONLY want to enter while stopped and looking at it (mainly entering addresses into Nav, or changing options). Voice controls work very well for calling someone or picking a song from my ipod.

When I first got my Focus in August I seriously disliked MFT cause I had never used anything like it. After I've learned the system, I think it's much better than the reputation CR keeps perpetuating. I have also heard it was quite a lot worse in the beginning of the year before the big update came out.

I also like your Lincoln, MoD, very handsome car. I can't wait to see what you think of the upcoming MKS and MKZ when Ford releases more info.

[gwoods]

The best part of the focus is the 35+ MPG and reasonable acceleration. I had one as a rental in Vegas last week did 120 miles in a day and put in just under 4 gallons of gas when I dropped it off. The car does not have a huge backseat but I really respect it for what it is. The truck is huge!

[Rogue One]

I got the one good one :-)

Yep, apparently you got the good one and only

A big problem with MyFordTouch was that Ford allowed Microsoft to be involved in the design. Microsoft has spent the last 17 years proving that they have no idea how touchscreen interfaces are supposed to work. They're famous for taking great hardware and crippling it with awkward, clunky, functionally impaired operating systems.