The Toyota Tacoma has long dominated reliability rankings and this year is no exception with it once again reigning supreme.
Every year, the team at Consumer Reports puts together predicted reliability for all vehicles. This predicted reliability, based on consumer feedback and past reliability, is a measure of what they expect overall reliability to be for any given year, and it is an excellent data source to use when shopping for a new truck.
Without further ado, here are the results from Consumer Reports.
There’s a lot of unpack with this list and, if you are paying member, you can deep dive into the results yourself.
First, you should know Consumer Reports has put compact and midsize trucks together, meaning the Ford Maverick is on the same list as the Nissan Frontier. However, for our purposes, we excluded the compact Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz and focused on the true midsize trucks.
Looking at the list the Toyota Tacoma hits the No. 1 slot and with a new 2024 Toyota Tacoma expected out this year, it begs the question if will remain on top for 2024.
The Honda Ridgeline is no surprise in the No. 2 slot since Honda vehicles are known for reliability and the Ridgeline has been out for a few years. Consumer Reports often favors older models for reliability versus new models.
Speaking of older vehicles, the Ford Ranger comes in the No. 3 slot with its global design being regurgitated for the U.S. market. For 2024, there will be a new Ford Ranger and we will have to see if it can improve on its reliability ranking.
The Nissan Frontier follows Ranger, and it is a bit of a surprise since the Frontier has always been right there with the top-selling Toyota midsize truck.
Rounding out the list is the Jeep Gladiator and the GM midsize twins. Jeep hasn’t had a solid history of being reliable, so the ranking makes sense.
The General Motors midsize twins bring up the rear, and because they are completely new for 2023, they haven’t been been tested by Consumer Reports yet. However, based on past reliability, especially the 8-speed transmission, they continue to rank poorly. A few years ago, CR called the Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 the least reliable trucks on the market. And now, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon get the lowest predicted reliability score we’ve ever seen for a truck.
Since 2023 Chevy Colorado and 2023 GMC Canyon are new, we’re hoping GM has done enough to change CR’s minds on their reliability. That combined with the fact that the Taco and 2024 Ford Ranger will be all-new next year, we expect the 2024 list to look a lot different.
Predicted reliability can be a thorny subject for some since it isn’t an exact science. Rather, it’s a gathering of data points that can help you make a decision on which truck to buy. This is especially important with new trucks seeing higher prices and consumers wanting to know if their big investment will pay off as a good decision.