If you blinked, you might have missed last year’s shakeup: Subaru dethroned Toyota as the automaker with the highest predicted reliability. The headline shocked much of the automotive world. But now the listing has righted itself, and Toyota is back on top. Read on to find out how Subaru held onto second place.

Consumer Reports compiles a yearly ranking of the automakers whose new cars have the highest predicted reliability. Its experts survey owners of vehicles up to 25 years old about major mechanical issues they dealt with in the past 12 months. Then they take that data and predict the reliability of the 2026 lineup. This year, 380,000 drivers answered the survey.

CR pointed out that Subaru has been building its lineup’s reliability over decades. The company redesigns its vehicles less often than bigger automakers. But it keeps components that have proven reliable and redesigns what is not working. The result is analysts’ confidence in the automaker’s 2026 lineup.

How Subaru held onto second place

For CR’s list last year, Toyota dropped two places. Both Lexus and Subaru ranked higher. This year, Toyota landed in first place, but Subaru still managed to beat Toyota’s luxury division for No. 2.

For 2026, CR ranked the Impreza as Subaru’s most reliable model. The Crosstrek was not far behind. The sport-focused BRZ and WRX both earned “above average” ratings. The Ascent, with an “average” rating, was Subaru’s lowest-ranked model this year.

You can see the top 10 most reliable automakers in the list below:

1. Toyota
2. Subaru
3. Lexus
4. Honda
5. BMW
6. Nissan
7. Acura
8. Buick
9. Tesla
10. Kia