Automotive publication HotCars analyzed the reports of various research companies to compile an overall ranking of the most reliable car brands available on the market today.

Research results have shown that Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Lexus and Mazda remain the world’s leading brands in terms of the reliability of their vehicles.

The first place is held by Toyota, which scored 72 points out of 100 possible. “For decades, the Japanese automaker has long been the most highly valued car brand in the world. Toyota’s reputation continues to be strong, mainly because almost all Toyota models have above-average reliability ratings.

The most reliable Toyota model, and the most reliable vehicle in the entire Consumer Report poll, was the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid, which scored 93 out of 100 for reliability. The Toyota Prius came in second, followed by the Toyota Corolla and Prius Prime.

Second place was taken by Lexus: “Lexus is the right hand of Toyota, it is not surprising that the brand is so high on the list. Pretty much everything good about Toyota can be said about Lexus.”

Lexus scored the same 72 points, but Toyota had more models overall. The Lexus GX is the second most reliable car model in the world with a score of 91/100.

Third place with a score of 65 points out of 100 went to Mazda. Mazda’s highest-ranking model in the Consumer Reports survey, the MX-5 Miata, scored 85/100, making it the fifth most reliable car in the world.

Fourth place went to BMW, which also scored 65/100. The BMW 3 Series scored 80 out of 100. The Honda came in fifth in the car reliability rankings, scoring 62/100 in Consumer Reports and 4.0 out of 5.0 in RepairPal. Top Honda models with above-average reliability include the Honda Accord, Accord Hybrid, Passport, and Civic.

Also in the top ten were Audi (60/100), Subaru (59/100), Acura (57/100), Kia (54/100) and Lincoln (54/100).

Despite the current trend in the automotive industry, according to which many car manufacturers are switching to touch control buttons, Volkswagen is listening to its fans.

In the presented concepts Volkswagen ID. 7 and ID. 3 had a lot of touch controls, but the company said that they would abandon such a control scheme in the serial Volkswagen ID.7 and return to the classic buttons.

The decision was made by new Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer, who announced his intention to add physical buttons back to new models last October after receiving feedback from a new customer committee. “The key word was ‘intuitive user interface’,” Schaefer said.

This intention was confirmed by the new Volkswagen ID 2all concept car, which includes switches and a wheel on the steering wheel, as well as quick access buttons below the infotainment system screen.

Autocar confirms that physical controls will be added to the Volkswagen ID steering wheel. 7 instead of tactile touch panels.

The updated Toyota RAV4 Rongfang crossover was shown publicly at the Shanghai Auto Show. The changes affected both the exterior and the interior.

Outside, there are new bumpers and headlights, as well as various decorative elements. The bodywork is two-tone, but in general there are more colors, if, for example, you count the unpainted plastic skirt and white pillars with a partially white spoiler on the trunk lid.

Inside, the front panel has been reformatted, a new display of the media system has appeared on it. The instrument panel is now fully digital in all versions. A new driving mode switch has appeared on the central tunnel. The material from which the seats are made has also changed.

For RAV4 Rongfang, Toyota has prepared a lot of engines and power plants. The base has a 2.0-liter engine with 171 hp. This version of the crossover does not have all-wheel drive. One step higher - hybrids based on a 2.5-liter engine. There are two of them - regular and plug-in, and each can be either mono or all-wheel drive. The most powerful option is a plug-in all-wheel drive hybrid, the total power of the power plant elements is 306 hp. On pure electricity, the plug-in hybrid can travel 73-78 km, and the dynamics of the top version is expressed in acceleration to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds.

The updated Toyota RAV4 Rongfang will be produced at the FAW Toyota joint venture, prices have not yet been announced.