CR pummels electric vehicle reliability, praises hybrids

[Mike1597]

I'm generally not a fan of CR but this DFP article generally seems to ring true. Electric vehicles are problematic. EVs have 79% more problems than ICE vehicles. PHEVs are even worse, PHEVs had 146% as many issues as ICE vehicles. Hybrids were the winner, with an average 26% fewer problems than ICE.

Detroit Free Press Article

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[sprubs]

From the article: PHEVs are more complicated and automakers have less experience with them,” Fisher said. “Although Toyota, Hyundai and Kia’s PHEVs are all very reliable."

Those are THE major players in PHEV. When I think of plug in hybrid I think of Toyota first.

It makes some sense that EVs, since they newer and include brands that are newer (Tesla, rivian), might have more issues. Like everything else though you take this on a case by case basis and don't just assume all EVs are crap.

 

[Montana]

Sounds about right. I know the intent of EV's and PHEV's is for a good cause, but it's basically just a fashion statement/fad overall at this point. The manufactures don't want you repairing them, parts are insanely expensive, range is limited, materials used are not any safer or better for the environment, and charging has to be planned. The benefits of a hybrid is that it's a more efficient means of ICE and retains the overall familiarity and reliability of that platform. You can just go for a drive, fill up in minutes and get back on the road. Still a lot of kinks to work out and I fear some manufacturers feel they have and are inevitably rushing the cost cutting maneuvers thus proving they don't really have the greatest track record for the platforms. But overall, I think the biggest thing for consumers is the ability to maintain said vehicles regardless of the platform.

I just saw a video on the YouTubes and as usual, they are surprisingly spot on:



I haven't watched that show since "They killed Kenny" was a thing but every now and then I see these clips on my feed and they are pretty hilarious. But I digress... repairing and maintaining plays a major role in what people buy now days and I think it's a rebound from all the cheap junk that's been peddled over a shockingly long period since about the 80's but really taking off in the 90's, especially in the US. Rather than buy something people can repair or maintain they bought something they could replace because it was cheap. Now with the cost of living and everything else, it's being flipped on it's ear and even cheap stuff is getting questions in regard to repairs in the hopes of avoiding a repurchase in the future. Obviously that translates to vehicles too.

For the cost of those fad style vehicles, you'd have to live a very efficient lifestyle and the question of it paying off is still up for grabs. Hybrids bridge that gap nicely (at least some of them do - not so much for a Hybrid Tundra that costs $70k+ and barely gets any better MPG's under perfect driving conditions). But again, are people buying them with permanent ownership in mind? Or are they relying on service departments and hoping for the best? The sad part is that's getting even more common for ICE vehicles now days too. Is anything reliable anymore? Amazon reviews from owners of less than 2 days would tell you: "YES! It works great!" - but the truth is only time will tell. It really doesn't pay to be a beta tester on anything.

In contrast to that though, if you take the Maverick Hybrid for example, features get cut and prices go up... so that's contradicting as well. I wish I could give EV and PHEV a shot, but I just can't afford to and my experience with Hybrids have been "meh" so far - and sadly the same for the most reliable brand as @sprubs mentioned - Toyota. Someone told me when I mentioned not being very impressed with my Tacoma for the price I paid that I could "hate it for longer than most other vehicles". I suppose they were right, but I'd rather be happy. If you can afford to play around in the vehicle market I say go for it, but most of us can't and are not willing to live a life of debt anymore. Ask any millennial why they don't do more and their answer will be: "I'm just wore out, man". It's wearing us down. We just want reliability across all the generations. I don't care if it's ICE, PHEV, EV, Hybrid or whatever comes next... just give me affordable reliability that can be easily maintained. That's also why around me you see such huge market for diesel trucks... Say what you want about efficiency in that category but if it runs for 500k, it's pretty hard to hate.

I also think another issue is the "influencers". People feel pressured into changing things and want to be seen as someone that's doing the right thing. Social media plays a big role in that and IMHO, the purchasing of PHEV's and EV's. When you watch JerryRigEverything building a HMMWV EV and pushing his Rivian to the limit because he can essentially afford to destory it and has the knowledge and money to fix it, they think it's a good idea to invest in unproven tech so they can seem like they have the same status and are "creating change" and then we start hearing how unreliable it is from said people that don't even know how to change a flat tire... Or if they even have a vehicle equipped with a spare tire...

 

[Darnon]

Don't forget though that Consumer Reports considers 'reliability' to encompass every component equally. So all of the whizbang infotainment, capacitive touch buttons, motorized this'n'that, etc. that many EVs incorporate because people expect them in a $40-50k+ vehicle and to compete with Tesla are a factor. Also looks like CR included charging issues as a vehicle issue despite I'd imagine a majority of those are technically the charger itself.

 

[huunvubu]

Don't forget though that Consumer Reports considers 'reliability' to encompass every component equally. So all of the whizbang infotainment, capacitive touch buttons, motorized this'n'that, etc. that many EVs incorporate because people expect them in a $40-50k+ vehicle and to compete with Tesla are a factor. Also looks like CR included charging issues as a vehicle issue despite I'd imagine a majority of those are technically the charger itself.

If I owned a vehicle and have problems with what issues you mention I would also think it has reliability issues.

Consumer Reports has a yearly survey that subscribers fill out on vehicles they own.

As a previous subscriber I filled it out for my 1998 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab and my 2015 Honda Fit. Also sent in data about the wife's 2009 Honda CR-V.

So Consumer Reports takes the data and publishes what was reported by actual usage by real people.

 

[Darnon]

If I owned a vehicle and have problems with what issues you mention I would also think it has reliability issues.

True, but there's a pretty big gulf in how it affects the core functionality of the vehicle if your infotainment locks up versus a powertrain related fault. And this is fundamentally getting headlined as a 'these powertrained vehicle are less reliable than these powertrained vehicles'.

 

[ilikebike]

Ford as a brand is pretty low on reliability in their rankings, however they call out both the Maverick and the Edge as being much better on reliability than the brand as a whole. Good to hear.

 

[GPSMan]

All that, but still EV's have fewer recalls than Mavericks. 🫤

 

[bbhaag]

All that, but still EV's have fewer recalls than Mavericks. 🫤

Interestingly enough the Mach-E moved up a bit. It's now a CR recommended buy again. Its overall rating score is up from 66 to 70 now, putting it in second place for electric SUVs, behind the EV6 and tied with the Ariya.

 

[rret]

I'm generally not a fan of CR but this DFP article generally seems to ring true. Electric vehicles are problematic. EVs have 79% more problems than ICE vehicles. PHEVs are even worse, PHEVs had 146% as many issues as ICE vehicles. Hybrids were the winner, with an average 26% fewer problems than ICE.

Detroit Free Press Article
CR is a rag. Full of people who really don't 'breath' cars. They absolutely suck. (Hope those dopes see this.)

 

[huunvubu]

Interestingly enough the Mach-E moved up a bit. It's now a CR recommended buy again. Its overall rating score is up from 66 to 70 now, putting it in second place for electric SUVs, behind the EV6 and tied with the Ariya.

I no longer get CR can you post what CR score shows on the Maverick Hybrid?

 

[1929]

I'm generally not a fan of CR but this DFP article generally seems to ring true. Electric vehicles are problematic. EVs have 79% more problems than ICE vehicles. PHEVs are even worse, PHEVs had 146% as many issues as ICE vehicles. Hybrids were the winner, with an average 26% fewer problems than ICE.

Detroit Free Press Article

Tesla is ranked in top half of all manufacturers for reliability. Tesla only manufactures EV.
Discredits the "EV problematic" agenda.

We purchased Maverick Hybrid for reasons it was best fit for our families vehicle needs and our finances. CR had no role in our decision. As a scientist I find CR sampling as flawed. CR only samples it's subscriber base.

 

[ndmiller]

Forgetting about EV versus Hybrid, Lexus & Toyota at the top and Chrysler & Mercedes at the bottom has been like this for decades. It's how manufacturers focus on quality and reliability plain and simple. No real changes in the rankings IMHO.

 

[bbhaag]

I no longer get CR can you post what CR score shows on the Maverick Hybrid?

@huunvubu

Here is the rating for the 2023 hybrid model it's 88/100. This is just for the hybrid it DOES NOT apply to the ecoboost models

Here is a break down comparing the 22 and 23 hybrid models.

 

[Bob The Builder]

I don't even want to plan ahead on what I'm going to have for dinner tonight, why in hell would I want to do so for charging stations on a road trip. I much prefer the "Oh, look, a gas station! I'll fill er up while I go get my coffee and a package of cheese and crackers".

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