The best and worst used cars

The response to our 2004 Annual Subscriber Survey was overwhelming. We received 810,000 responses, 135,000 more than we had in 2003. Because of that, our data paints a more expansive reliability picture than ever before.

This year 54 models made our CR Good Bets list of typically reliable models that have performed well in our road tests, compared with 50 last year. There are seven new entries on the list.

But our 2004 list of CR Bad Bets, models that are considered especially risky buys and that have exhibited several years of below-average reliability, has grown to 34 models from 21 in 2003. There are 15 new entries on the list.

CR Good Bets and CR Bad Bets are based on our larger lists of Reliable used cars and Used cars to avoid (available to subscribers). These comprehensive lists give you a rundown of all the models that were found, from our data, to be above or below average in reliability. Owners reported on any serious problems they had had with their cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks in the previous year.

CR Good Bets These are the best of both worlds: vehicles that have performed well in Consumer Reports road tests over the years and have proved to have several or more years of better-than-average overall reliability. They are listed alphabetically. Acura Integra Acura MDX Acura RL Acura RSX Acura TL Buick Regal Chevrolet/Geo Prizm Chrysler PT Cruiser Ford Crown Victoria Ford Escort, ZX2 Honda Accord Honda Civic Honda CR-V Honda Odyssey Honda Prelude Honda S2000 Infiniti G20 Infiniti I30, I35 Infiniti Q45 Infiniti QX4 Lexus ES300, ES330 Lexus GS300/ GS400, GS430 Lexus IS300 Lexus LS400, LS430 Lexus RX300, RX330 Lincoln Town Car Mazda 626 Mazda Millenia Mazda MX-5 Miata Mazda Protegé Mercury Grand Marquis Mercury Tracer Mitsubishi Galant Nissan Altima Nissan Maxima Nissan Pathfinder Subaru Forester Subaru Impreza Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota 4Runner Toyota Avalon Toyota Camry Toyota Camry Solara Toyota Celica Toyota Corolla Toyota Echo Toyota Highlander Toyota Land Cruiser Toyota Prius Toyota RAV4 Toyota Sequoia Toyota Sienna Toyota Tundra

CR Bad Bets Be especially careful when considering these models. They have shown several years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability in their 1997 to 2004 models. They are listed alphabetically. Audi A6 BMW 7 Series Chevrolet Astro Chevrolet Blazer Chevrolet Express1500 Chevrolet S-10 (4WD) Chevrolet TrailBlazer Chrysler Town & Country (AWD) Dodge Dakota (4WD) Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD) Ford Windstar GMC Envoy GMC Jimmy GMC Safari GMC Savana 1500 GMC Sonoma (4WD) Jaguar S-Type Jaguar X-Type Jeep Grand Cherokee Land Rover Discovery Lincoln Navigator Mercedes-Benz C-Class (V6) Mercedes-Benz CLK Mercedes-Benz M-Class Mercedes-Benz S-Class Oldsmobile Bravada Oldsmobile Cutlass Plymouth Neon Pontiac Aztek Saturn Vue Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen Jetta Volkswagen New Beetle Volvo S80