Critics and consumer support sites like Consumer Reports and iSeeCars help evaluate vehicle reliability every year. Car buyers rely on these critical ratings to decide which reliable car brands to buy. Generally, there is some degree of consistency in which brands earn high-reliability ratings year over year. But in a stunning and unprecedented move, Lincoln went from being the least reliable brand in 2021 to becoming one of the most reliable car brands of 2022. See how Lincoln surprised everyone and made this incredible turnaround.

The top 10 most reliable brands of 2022

If you’re interested in which automotive brands round out the best of the best in reliability, you’ll likely not be surprised to learn Honda and Mazda are among them. Audi also jumped in reliability ranking, taking a higher position than most competitors. 

The Consumer Reports analytics, which studies more than 300,000 individual vehicle ownership experiences, also hailed BMW, Lexus, and Toyota, taking top spots in reliability. Popular brands like Subaru, Acura, and Kia all did as well as you’d expect.

Where Lincoln lands on the list year-over-year

Coming in way better than previous years in most reliable brands lists is Lincoln. What’s more impressive than Lincoln landing in higher up of most reliable brands in 2022 is just how big of a leap from where it sat on the list in 2021. 

Kelley Blue Book shared the dependability rankings from 2021, where Lincoln found itself dead last. To score perfectly, brands would have to score 100. Lincoln earned a beyond dismal 18, securing its last-place finish in the reliability running that year. If you look now, according to iSeeCars, several vehicles are starting to rank much higher for reliability. This includes SUVs like the Lincoln Navigator and the Lincoln MKZ, while a few vehicles are still pending evaluation.

So, to see Lincoln change direction and find itself among the most reliable car brands in the course of one year, it’s really an impressive move.

How Lincoln ranks in comparison to other brands

Another impressive achievement for Lincoln is how it competes against some of the other mainstream American car brands in this official year-end review. Chevrolet, for example, is seeing a decline. GMC and Jeep also fell off. 

Lincoln’s big move up the reliability chart is impressive, too, when compared to other luxury cars. It beat out the likes of Buick, Cadillac, and Tesla.

There is more than one success story to note coming from this recap of the most reliable brands in 2022. For example, BMW adopted a new tech-forward strategy that clearly paid off with a jump in reliability. Slight changes that automakers like BMW and Lincoln introduce into models can have a massive impact on how the life of the vehicle will play out for owners. It doesn’t need to be stated how important reliability is for most drivers when determining what vehicle to purchase.

If you’re thinking luxury new car this year, it’s worth giving Lincoln a closer look.