[jdmartin]

Before I bought my Ram I drove Nissan trucks for more than 20 years, after I had switched from Chevy/GMC trucks. My Nissan trucks were excellent - I went from Hardbody to Frontier to Titan. I will say that the Titan had more issues than the Frontier, which had more issues than the Hardbody, but none of them had issues like my Chevy/GMCs did. I would probably still be in a Nissan today if there was a dealer worth a crap and they hadn't changed the body style to something so awful looking. But I'm really happy with the Ram, and I see it's way up there in both CR and JD Power.

As for CR, I give them props on the car reviews. They've led me wrong a couple times on other stuff, but on car predictability it's been spot-on to my own experiences. Which is not surprising because previous year ratings are based on customer reports. When I think back on the cars I've owned that sucked, I can remember that CR said they sucked and I bought them anyway. And the ones they said were good pretty much mirrored my experience.

I think where some of the ratings can go off the rails is what one person thinks is serious another one doesn't even notice. I might hear wind noise from a vehicle and think nothing of it, while someone else will complain incessantly about "fit and finish" or something similar based on that.

 

[SportsterDoc]

I have owned Ford (2), Dodge (1), Chevrolet / GMC (6), Nissan (2), Toyota (1) trucks and all served well. The only one with any issue was a 2004 GMC Sonoma, crew cab 4.3 V6, 4WD. It developed cooling problems in stop and start traffic when it was about 3 years old. Only noticeable when traffic was backed up crossing Hoover Dam, coming back from our ranch, before the bypass bridge was built.

Only vehicle I have owned that I would give bad marks to was a 1988 Plymouth Voyager, 3.0 Mitsubishi V6. Great performance but coolant disappeared and the dealer claimed they could not find a head gasket leak. Started it up in Albuquerque after a December visit to in-laws, and it blew a cam seal. Not at all impressed with Mitsubishi.

 

[wild willy]

Nissan killed itself with me......2 reason---- CVT's as only Option...which I might live with in my Next Altima.....but they also discontinued the only reason to buy an Altima...the 3.5 l VQ.

 

[SportsterDoc]

I am with you regarding CVT... fortunately their trucks still have a "real" transmission.

CVTs are cheaper to manufacture, lighter; but require more frequent service and have HP limitations.

 

[engage]

We got 9 mpg all of the time. It ticked like a bomb from new......Honda said 9 mpg was with in spec. I bought the extended warranty....was about 500 bucks......Best 500 bucks I ever spent.....repairs were close to 7000.00. Damn thing was rusting too...with 40K miles.... GARBAGE

We helped my daughter buy her Odyssay and I wished we would have purchased an extended warranty. I think it was a 2005 model. My in-laws bought it new and and my FIL was a car guy and maintained the car religiously. I think my daughter bought the car from them when it was 6 or 7 years old. It had 7X,XXX miles on it - looked and ran new. Two weeks after they bought the transmission went out. I got Honda to cover half the cost - thanks to MIL's meticulous record keeping. But, over the years, just about everything went - heater core, radiator, starter, back door motors, alternator, calipers, A/C and on and on. My daughter sent me a list once and it was an eye-opener. I saw that list, called her and told her I'd help her with another car. She now has a Sorento and loves it.

 

[GeoSoul]

We helped my daughter buy her Odyssay and I wished we would have purchased an extended warranty. I think it was a 2005 model. My in-laws bought it new and and my FIL was a car guy and maintained the car religiously. I think my daughter bought the car from them when it was 6 or 7 years old. It had 7X,XXX miles on it - looked and ran new. Two weeks after they bought the transmission went out. I got Honda to cover half the cost - thanks to MIL's meticulous record keeping. But, over the years, just about everything went - heater core, radiator, starter, back door motors, alternator, calipers, A/C and on and on. My daughter sent me a list once and it was an eye-opener. I saw that list, called her and told her I'd help her with another car. She now has a Sorento and loves it.

Sadly that was my same experience with Hondas too engage. They seem to rapidly decline after about 6 years, inside & out. The rattles & shimmy, in all of them, drove me nuts.

I don't thing they could ever offer the same warranty timeframe as Kia.

 

[wild willy]

The Honda Nutswinngers crack me up.....They stick up for Honda like nobody's business. Our NEW Oddy was the noisiest vehicle I have ever owned....you could not carry on a conversation with people in 2nd row. Road and wind noise was off the charts. When we replaced with the 2012 Quest.....it was like we were riding in a Rolls

 

[Alma2020]

I don't believe much of what Consumer Reports has to say.

@ Old Soul : Why not?
While the design of their rating systems is biased toward what they think matters, when it comes to auto reliability rating, it combines repair data and a large database of extremely detailed consumer surveys. However their auto ratings, due to the design, is openly biased. And their raters are all old foggies like us!

 

[Rock the Box]

Bad when Nissan beats ya....

These are the 10 most and least reliable 2021 cars, trucks and SUVs, Consumer Reports says

I just checked the online version of CR via my public library and the only trouble point listed was a ration of 2 out of 5 for Transmission Major with an explanation of "Transmission rebuild or replacement, torque converter, clutch replacement." Without knowing which transmissions these are - manual, CVT, IVT, it's not possible to value the CR rating. Also, abuse can play a part as well like shifting into reverse before a vehicle has come to a complete stop while in drive.

 

[SailDesign]

I just checked the online version of CR via my public library and the only trouble point listed was a ration of 2 out of 5 for Transmission Major with an explanation of "Transmission rebuild or replacement, torque converter, clutch replacement." Without knowing which transmissions these are - manual, CVT, IVT, it's not possible to value the CR rating. Also, abuse can play a part as well like shifting into reverse before a vehicle has come to a complete stop while in drive.

If it has a torque converter, it isn't a manual....

 

[jim1824]

My 2 cents input. In my over 55 years of driving, I've owned and/or driven MANY cars, mostly foreign. Everything from a 1956 Ford (my first) to my present 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe (I've owned 4 of them) and a 2015 Kia Soul!. I owned & operated an auto repair shop in Germany where I repaired and driven nearly every car the Germans make. As far as Kia's are concerned, I traded my wife's POS 2011 Honda Civic sedan, which we bought new, for a new 2015 Kia Soul!. No, I do not believe all the published "ratings." We couldn't wait to rid us of the Honda that caused us nothing but problems for the four dreadful years we owned it! The Soul has been an absolute pleasure to own and totally trouble free. To be honest, she only put on 6,300 miles in five years, so it's still "new." I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Kia and I have recommended the brand to many of my close friends. Just a few notes: The most fun cars to drive were my two Fiats (an 850 Coupe and a 124 Sports Coupe) and a BMW 850i Coupe, which was frighteningly fast . The best all around car I ever owned was a BMW 735i sedan.

 

[cwayne372]

I had a 1984 Nissan Maxima with a 5 speed and the L24E engine (same basic engine as the Nissan Skyline R30)....it by far was the finest automobile I've ever owned. I was using it as a sales car and put 250,000 miles on over a 10 year period. Except for batteries, brakes, and tires...it was perfect. Not even a clutch change! On the other hand, my wife bought an Altima. I liked the car...but it had several issues. I also noticed on the list...Chevrolet Citation. I bought one...with an extended warranty. For the first 50,000 miles...horrendous problems. Then...it ran for another 150,000 miles...perfectly. The moral of this story: all 3 of those cars were on the CONSUMERS report list...high marks. So, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. The Soul's (ours a 2020 S) of today are so technologically advanced and backed by warranties much more superior than anything in the marketplace, then or now...that we should just ride the waves of security...into the future.

 

[Kraken]

Scotty Kilmer rated Nissan below Mitsubishi. OUCH! Everybody has opinions and different people have problems with certain cars while others don't. Dodge listed as having the fewest problems is a surprise.

 

[TXSSSoul]

Before I bought my Ram I drove Nissan trucks for more than 20 years, after I had switched from Chevy/GMC trucks. My Nissan trucks were excellent - I went from Hardbody to Frontier to Titan. I will say that the Titan had more issues than the Frontier, which had more issues than the Hardbody, but none of them had issues like my Chevy/GMCs did. I would probably still be in a Nissan today if there was a dealer worth a crap and they hadn't changed the body style to something so awful looking. But I'm really happy with the Ram, and I see it's way up there in both CR and JD Power.

As for CR, I give them props on the car reviews. They've led me wrong a couple times on other stuff, but on car predictability it's been spot-on to my own experiences. Which is not surprising because previous year ratings are based on customer reports. When I think back on the cars I've owned that sucked, I can remember that CR said they sucked and I bought them anyway. And the ones they said were good pretty much mirrored my experience.

I think where some of the ratings can go off the rails is what one person thinks is serious another one doesn't even notice. I might hear wind noise from a vehicle and think nothing of it, while someone else will complain incessantly about "fit and finish" or something similar based on that.

I actually like the new styling of my Titan. I'd probably be in a Chevy if my local dealerships weren't garbage. Dodge longevity scares me a bit.

As far as Nissan vs Kia, I have to say that my Kias seemed to have better fit and finish than my nissan thus far.

 

[GeoSoul]

Bumping this thread with newer stats. Jan 2023

3 Most Reliable Kia Models

Kia is known to make reliable vehicles. Here are the top 3 most reliable Kia models you may want to consider.

www.motorbiscuit.com

 

[Rock the Box]

Bumping this thread with newer stats. Jan 2023

3 Most Reliable Kia Models

Kia is known to make reliable vehicles. Here are the top 3 most reliable Kia models you may want to consider.

www.motorbiscuit.com

Doesn't seem much different from my 2020. HP/Torque is the same; cargo space is the same, drivability appears to be the same. That's what I care about.

 

[Alma2020]

Of more interest to those who consider either Motorbiscuit or RepairPal as reliable or authoritative sources. That article reads more like a paid ad for low end Kia's. There are a variety of types of statistics for any measures, where depending on which ones are highlighted and how they are presented, skews results. Consumer Reports is a perfect example of skewed stats. Once they form an opinion --what they are best at, despite the appearance of being impartial-- their stats will always support their bias.

 

[GeoSoul]

Of more interest to those who consider either Motorbiscuit or RepairPal as reliable or authoritative sources. That article reads more like a paid ad for low end Kia's. There are a variety of types of statistics for any measures, where depending on which ones are highlighted and how they are presented, skews results. Consumer Reports is a perfect example of skewed stats. Once they form an opinion --what they are best at, despite the appearance of being impartial-- their stats will always support their bias.

Couldn't agree more Alma. I think of it more like those tabloid articles in the grocery store checkout line when I was a kid. They are fun to read and have a little something for everybody.

I linked this one from Motor Dumplings because it makes me feel better about my Soul purchase. Click........bait

 

[Alma2020]

Couldn't agree more Alma. I think of it more like those tabloid articles in the grocery store checkout line when I was a kid. They are fun to read and have a little something for everybody.

I linked this one from Motor Dumplings because it makes me feel better about my Soul purchase. Click........bait

I lived and breathed Consumer Reports for years, and then began to see through their bias. When I wrote to them, nobody responded. I offered up specific examples including where two cars had the same numbered ratings for specific aspects, yet the hard data was notably distinct, or another where their short review criticizes something (like ride and noise) on a model they don't like, but the review of one they do, with lower ratings for that aspect, gets a better text statement about it.

Not sure about JDPowers, they seem more level headed and, having done one of their survey (for my prior 2020 Soul, I now have a 2022) it was incredibly long and detailed. I love my Soul (and my Kia Soul 😊) but it is far from perfect, each one with a range of minor user electronic and settings malfunctions. Work around and adapt! the car is worth it.