If you’re in the market for a new car, you want to make sure you do your research. The brands that performed well when you were last shopping for a car might not have the same reputation now and the top performing brands may have changed.

In June, J.D. Power, the global market research company, released their findings for 2019’s most reliable car brands. This was based on their 2019 Initial Quality Study, with rankings made by measuring the amount of problems that customers reported within 90 days of purchasing or leasing a car.

They made their ranks based on the number of problems reported for every 100 vehicles, taking surveys from over 76,000 purchasers of new cars. That means that a lower score is better as that car had fewer problems reported. While the average for the 32 brands studied was 93 problems per 100 vehicles, these are the top 10 performing brands.

#10. Lexus

The luxury brand from Japanese automaker Toyota had a score of 90 per 100 vehicles. This is a drop from 84 last year. The increase of 6 problems per 100 vehicles put at in a tie for the tenth spot from 8th last year.

#9. Dodge

This domestic brand had a score of 90, an improvement from 98 last year. This is the highest Dodge has ever ranked in this study, jumping from 19th place last year. Part of the reason for this may be that top European brands BMW, MINI, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche all dropped, largely due to problems with their electric systems, especially the infotainment systems.

#8. Toyota

Toyota had a score of 90 reported problems per 100 vehicles. The improvement from 96 last year allowed the brand to jump from 18th place.

#7. Nissan

The Japanese brand Nissan had a score of 86, improving off of last year from 10th place, although the problems reported increased by one.

6. Chevrolet

The domestic brand Chevrolet had a score of 85. It remains in 6th place from last year, although the problems reported increased by three.

5. Lincoln

The domestic brand Lincoln 84 jumped two places from 7th last year, although the number of problems increased by one.

4. Ford

Ford had a score of 83 problems per 100 vehicles. It improved by one spot from last year. This is the first time both brands from the Ford Motor Company (Ford and Lincoln) have placed in the top five in this study. If you're in the market for a reliable vehicle please view our selection of used Fords in New Jersey.

3. Hyundai

The South Korean auto brand had a score of 71 problems per 100 vehicles. An improvement from 74 last year. This is the brand’s second year in third place.

2. Kia

This is another South Korean brand under the manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Its score of 70 was an improvement from 72 last year. This is the brand’s second year in second place and the 5th year in a row as the highest ranked mass market brand.

1. Genesis

Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand scored 63 problems per 100 vehicles, an improvement from 68 last year. This is Genesis’s second year in first place.

This is the second year in a row that these brands under South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group were ranked as the top three. And while other top performers on the list had their number of reported problems go up, these Hyundai brands all improved, meaning the gap between them and the other brands in terms of new car quality has only increased.

Part of the reason for the success of these South Korean brands is their performance with electric components, especially the infotainment systems that are becoming increasingly important, and that some other brands have struggled with.

While these are the top 10 most reliable car brands in 2019, overall the study showed that infotainment continues to cause the most problems for owners of new vehicles. You’ll want to be sure to look out for these time of electrical problems during your next car search.

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