Yes because they never break, use oil and will warranty it after the coverage runs out every time.

So tired of the Japanese love fest the media has.

I have a first owner '05 Honda Accord with 75k miles and a 2nd owner '03 X5 4.4L with over 175k miles, care to guess which one I spend more time repairing?????

The 2 yr newer and over 100k fewer miles Accord!

AC compressor, power steering pump/fluid tank, wheel bearings, alternator (1st unit, FROM HONDA DEALER, was N/G, when heated underhood output dropped to zero. Had to argue with parts manager for almost an hour to get a swap out!).

ALL item listed above are still OE on the BMW (along with trans, x-fer case, timing chain guides.....).

I used to read CR, and still credit its reviews [for example] of appliances, generally, but not so much on cars. My best guess is that their readership [especially those who respond to its ratings surveys] don't include many 'car guys' [a group that is not gender specific, but tends male ....]. Their surveys can also be impacted by specific vehicle problems: for example, Ford/Navistar's problem prone 6.0L Diesel [2003-06+]. As opposed to the previous, bullet-proof 7.3L, a great diesel powerplaint. I am surprised to see the 3.0L X5 singled out. Sample size/pool issue, I expect.

The list was compiled by Toyota lovers and drivers. What else should we expect from a rag like CR?

BTW, Toyota recalled over a half million vehicles last year--how did they get a pass?

Toyota was caught last year, they allowed seat suppliers to use cheaper, non-flame retardant materals in their heated seats (effected vehicle numbers could be in the MILLIONS worldwide). That's some quality vendor audits there Toyota.

Honda is recalling 100s of thousands of vehicles for a faulty fuel tank cover, it corrodes and causes a fire risk!

What ALL surveys have in common is that you can steer the outcome based on the type of questions you ask ...

If you have ever received a CR survey questionnaire, you will understand why the results are typically skewed the way they are. The questions (and answers) are not very insightful and if you skip a couple, the results are lumped into category columns that conform to the space allowed by the editor and publisher ...

... still, it is data and you are free to interpret it any way you want, but by the time you read it, you have spent the money on the issue that CR wanted to sell you!

agreed... along with the a6. i think ever since the c5 the a6 has been on CR's worst car list.

exactly... back in 2007 they declared the camry the car of the year... what that entails i have no idea but that specific camry was problematic and they recommended with their highly coveted red circle white dot rating. meanwhile that POS has water pump failures, power steering leaks, seat repairs, coil pack issues, leaking shocks, o2 sensors that crap out, etc etc etc.

Yeah, Toyota ditched a lot of the "Toys R Us bargain bin" looking interior plastic pieces for upscale "soft touch" materials like in the Lexus line.

The idiots at CR ate that crap up and asked for 2nds!!!

pure insanity... just not sure on whose part. cr or the readers?
i am extremely familiar with cr because ever since i can remember it is how my father gauged which products we would have in our home growing up. nothing could be done with out consulting with the cr buyer's guide. for those of you not in the know of this glorious piece of misinformation it is a condensed version made for travel or glove box keeping and highlights all it's reviews and categorizes them so you could easily look things up on the fly. this huge pos sat in my dad's glove box and when it was time for a new washing machine, dryer, television, vcr, camera or anything in between he pulled it out and walked into the store and we sat their for hours looking up models. i hated it then i hate it now.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDM4Mw...THfNI/$_12.JPG

when i grew up and was able to make my own purchases my father (still a subscriber) would reference the holy guide and none of the products i purchase ever make it into the tests... not home audio system, camera, dishwasher, washer, dryer, car etc. i guess these days they only test the garbage and tell you what's the best of the worst?