Going the distance.(Cars 2001)(Reliability)(reader surveys since 1993)(Cover Story)(Buyers Guide)(Directory)

Reliability information in this issue, based on readers' responses covering more than 500,000 vehicles, is designed to help you improve your odds of finding a vehicle that will have few problems. The reliability forecasts for new cars are on page 30. If you're looking for a good used car, start with the lists on pages 74 and 75, which include "CR Good Bets" and "Reliability Risks."

The Frequency-of-Repair charts, which start on the facing page, can help you assess the reliability of a used vehicle. For each model and year, we give a Reliability Verdict to help you quickly identify reliable and unreliable models. It highlights the cars for which overall reliability (the sum of the trouble-spot scores) is average or better than average. Extra weight in the scoring is given to engine, cooling, transmission, and driveline. (Driveline differences mainly affect four-wheel-drive vehicles and are not shown in the charts.)

The 2000 models were less than six months old, with an average of only about 3,000 miles, when their owners responded to our survey. In our judgment, cars that new should have very few problems. Even a b may be cause for concern. With older vehicles, a score worse than c always merits scrutiny, though a score of d or e is not unusual for some categories.

How to use the Frequency-of-Repair charts

FINDING A RELIABLE MODEL

Look for models with a [check] Reliability Verdict. It's an easy way of identifying vehicles, by model and year, with better reliability. These correspond with the models you'll find in the "Reliable Used Cars" list on page 75.

KEY TO RELIABILITY VERDICTS