'A lot of technology doesn't necessarily work all the time, and there's more potential for problems,' Fisher said. More technology means more bugs and glitches, such as frozen or blank screens - leading to less reliability. 'The short answer of it really has to do with BMW and Mercedes-Benz's current approach to technology,' he said.īMW has generally scaled back the amount of technology it adopts in the cockpit, while Mercedes-Benz has embraced more technology to separate itself from its rivals, Fisher said. Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, said the wide gap between the two leading German luxury brands can be attributed to how they implement new and advanced technology. The brand's 3 and 4 series models improved to 'above average' rankings, while the X3, X5, X7 and 5 series are ranked 'average.'įor the first time, Mercedes-Benz finished in last place in the Consumer Reports rankings, falling five spots. 2 finish last year.īMW climbed 10 spots to place third in the survey, released Tuesday during a presentation before the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. Toyota, Lexus and BMW top Consumer Reports' survey of brand reliability for 2022, nudging Mazda from the podium after its No.

Consumer reports reliable cars