It's interesting to visually scan Consumer Reports' used-car reliability tables. The testing agency assigns a ranking to about 15 trouble spots for all mainstream used cars. (Don't expect to find Lamborghinis or Rolls Royces among its statistics.)

It lists the vehicles alphabetically and assigns a ranking ranging visually from red for good to black for bad. It's actually more diplomatic than that, with five ranking ranging from 'much better than average' to 'much worse than average.'

But visually, it is easy to get a quick read on the best and worst vehicles and Toyota and its Lexus and Scion units stand out dramatically as seas of red compared to other manufacturers. Honda and Nissan also score well.

Here are the used vehicles with at least two years of data that Consumer Reports found were 'much better than average' overall:

Ford Fusion; Honda CR-V; Honda Civic sedan; Honda Element; Honda S2000; Honda Ridgeline; Hyundai Elantra; Infiniti G35 sedan; Infiniti M35; Kia Optima; Lexus SC; Mazda CX-9; Mazda3 sedan; Mercury Milan; Nissan 350Z; Nissan Altima Hybrid; Pontiac Vibe; Scion tC, Scion xA, xD; Scion xB; Suzuki SX4; Toyota Camry Hybrid; Toyota Echo, Toyota Yaris sedan; Toyota FJ Cruiser; Toyota Highlander; Toyota Highlander Hybrid; Toyota Matrix; Toyota Prius; and Toyota RAV4.

I'd also add the Honda Fit whose numbers seem to be up with the best despite its milder better than average ranking.

- Peter C.T. Elsworth