The reliability of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids has dramatically improved, narrowing a gap with gas-powered automobiles.

Electric vehicles have proved far less reliable, on average, than gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports, which found that EVs from the 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly 80% more problems than did vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines.

Gas-electric hybrids were the most dependable vehicles sold in the U.S. in the past year, while big pickup trucks and fully electric automobiles performed the worst in Consumer Reports’ annual reliability survey.

As the investigation into a fatal Tesla crash near Houston continues, Consumer Reports tested the Autopilot feature in another Tesla to see if the car would drive with no one behind the wheel.

Consumer Reports says it was able to easily trick a Tesla into driving in the car's Autopilot mode without a person in the driver’s seat.

DETROIT – Mazda beat traditional winners Lexus and Toyota to win top honors as the most dependable auto brand in Consumer Reports' annual reliability survey. Mazda took top honors for the first time in the survey, which this year included Consumer Reports organization members who own more than 300,000 vehicles from model years 2000 to 2020. Consumer Reports said that the Ford Explorer SUV, redesigned for the 2020 model year, is among the lowest-scoring models of any manufacturer with transmission, electronic, and engine issues. Only the company's Model 3 small car was rated as reliable and recommended by Consumer Reports. Nearly half of the new models have much worse than average reliability, Consumer Reports said.