http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/aut...ble/index.html

Most Reliable Small Car
Most reliable (Best score first)

Honda Fit (pictured)*
Toyota Yaris*
Honda Civic Hybrid*
Toyota Corolla

Least reliable (Worst score first)

Chevrolet Cobalt
2006 Nissan Sentra
Volkswagen Jetta (5 cyl.)
Chevrolet Aveo


2007 models unless otherwise noted.

*Predicted reliability based on only one model year.

 

While I have no reason to doubt the Fit will be very reliable, I wouldn't base too much on CR's rating in this case.

This year's survey asked to only report problems that occurred between 4-1-2005 and 3-31-2006. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Fit went on sale in April.

So, every survey response CR received on the Fit was from someone who didn't read, misread, or ignored the instructions. It's generally not a good idea to rely entirely on such people for data.

I asked CR about this. Their response was that they had received over 100 responses, which is the minimum they require, and that they felt their readers would benefit from having this information. Also, they'd have given the Fit a top predicted reliability score even if they had no data on it because it's a Honda.

Last year, based on similarly obtained survey responses, the Honda Ridgeline was predicted to be over 160% more reliable than the average car, an off-the-charts score. This year, with more complete data from people who might have read the instructions, CR reported that "the Ridgeline's reliability has declined to average." In other words, they're saying that the Ridgeline got worse, not that their data improved.