Lexus earned the highest marks among automakers on Consumer Report's 2013 Annual Report Card, the magazine announced Tuesday when it made its April issue available to subscribers online.
"When it comes to making cars, Lexus pushes all of the right buttons: Its luxury models are quiet, comfortable, and fuel efficient, and they're among the most reliable. That's quite a feat for a brand whose cars are brimming with technology, such as hybrid drivetrains and complicated infotainment system," a statement on Consumer Reports website said.
Lexus scored an overall 79 in the report. Carmakers Subaru and Mazda were tied for second place with an overall score of 75. The report said both brands build solid cars that have good handling and fuel economy while being versatile and relatively affordable, The New York Times reported.
This year's report was scored differently than ones in the past by grading each automaker's individual brands. Rather than calculating a single score for Toyota, for example, the report analyzed Toyota, Lexus and Scion models separately, which Consumer Reports said was more useful for consumers.
Japanese automakers took eight of the top 10 spots, with Toyota and Acura rounding out the top five with a score of 74, Honda and Scion followed with 72 points. Scoring 70 were Audi and Infiniti; Mercedes-Benz finished in 10th place with a score of 69, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
American automakers did not fair so well in the Report Card. Cadillac was the highest-scoring U.S.-based brand, tying with Hyundai at 14th place with a score of 63.
The survey scored 26 automotive brands and based results on the magazine's average road test and predicted reliability scores from surveys of subscribers, Bloomberg reported. To be included in the survey, the magazine must have data for at least three models. As such, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Ram and Smart were not rated.
American automakers dominated the bottom five in the survey, with Chrysler earning a score of 52, Ford with 51, Lincoln at 50, Jeep at 47 and Dodge at the very bottom with 46 points, The Times reported.
This is the second time in recent days that Lexus has topped a survey. A J.D. Power and Associates study of vehicle dependability also gave Lexus the highest score.
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