Are Chevys Good Cars? How To Make The Right Purchasing Decision
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Founded in 1911, Chevy is a division of the General Motors Company along with GM, Buick, and Cadillac. Famous for its Corvette, Camaro, Silverado, and more recently its SUVs and even electric cars, Chevy has a loyal customer base and is one of the highest selling brands in the US and across the world. While it may be one of America’s storied brands, are Chevy’s good cars?
There are currently 19 active models in the Chevy lineup ranging from the classic and historic pickups to more modern electric vehicles. Like many other major vehicle brands, Chevy has recently switched to a larger focus on family-oriented vehicles and now has seven different SUV styles from small compact to large 7 and 8 seaters.
Are Chevys good cars with regular maintenance?
Chevy’s overall reliability rating is a 3.5 out of 5 from Repair Pal, putting it in the middle among the major vehicle manufacturers. Ranking 20th out of 32 total brands rated, this rating factors in how many planned and unplanned trips drivers need to take to a repair shop, the severity of the repair, and the total cost. Chevy has a slightly higher average annual maintenance cost than average, but less frequent and severe trips. Drivers can expect an annual payment of a little over $600 for maintenance-related expenses throughout any given year.
Like many other American brands, Chevy has an image based on its historic success and popularity but has experienced recent challenges creating reliable vehicles that are up to the same standard as European and Asian exports. Chevy has been dubbed as a brand to avoid since the late 2000-teens due to its maintenance failures and lack of modern technology, but still has successful sales.
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While Chevy certainly is known for its muscle cars, trucks, and more recently its SUVs, it hasn’t gained a ton of traction in overall reliability compared to competitors. In [Motor Biscuit](<(https://www.motorbiscuit.com/most-reliable-cars-decade-according-consumer-reports/>)’s top 20 reliable vehicles of the 2010s, not one vehicle from Chevy’s lineup made the cut. Not surprisingly, it was dominated by the top manufacturers in Asia.
Consumer reports has been a little more favorable to Chevy recently and rated it as the 14th overall brand by reliability. The top brands were overwhelmingly international brands, and the domestic brands rounded out the bottom half with a few surprising outliers.
Most reliable brands according to Consumer Reports
- Lexus
- Mazda
- Toyota
- Infiniti
- Buick
- Honda
- Subaru
- Acura
- Nissan
- Mini
- Hyundai
- Chrysler
- Porsche
- Chevrolet
- Audi
- Cadillac
- BMW
- Ford
- Kia
- Volvo
- Ram
- GMC
- Mercedes-Benz
- Volkswagen
- Genesis
- Jeep
- Tesla
- Lincoln
In terms of general reliability ratings, smaller vehicles like hatchbacks, coupes, convertibles, and other sedans typically fare better than their larger counterparts. For a brand like Chevy that is heavily focused on SUVs and trucks, this clearly doesn’t help their overall ratings.
What are Chevys good cars and models?
It might not be surprising that Chevy has better luck in the truck game but still falls behind the other major American manufacturers. According to US News, Chevy comes in as the fifth overall truck producer on average but does have some higher ratings for individual trucks.
- Nissan
- Toyota
- Chevy
- GMC
- Honda
- Ford
- Ram
Chevy TrailBlazer
There aren’t many other vehicles in the subcompact SUV category that can provide as much space and the gas mileage that the TrailBlazer gets. The interior is modern and the technology is simple to operate. Many of its competitors may have more powerful engines, better rides, and nicer interiors, for a far higher price.
For those looking for a simple vehicle with a strong interior, the Trailblazer is a good choice. While it falls short of the competition in various respects like towing and power, a fully loaded Trailblazer is less expensive than most other compact crossovers. It’s listed as one of Consumer Reports most reliable vehicles.
THE BEST SEDANS WITH HIGH GROUND CLEARANCE
There are plenty of vehicles on the market that let you tower over obstacles without losing the convenience of a compact car. Therefore, we’ve put together a list of our favorite new sedans with high ground clearance.
U.S. News and World Report ranks it as the #7 overall subcompact SUV, and with a reliability rating of over 80, it should definitely be considered for your next ride.
- Overall Rating: 7.8/10
- Critics’ Rating: 7.0/10
- Performance: 6.6/10
- Interior: 7.6⁄10
- Safety: 9.8⁄10
- Quality & Reliability 81
Chevy Silverado
The 2021 Chevrolet Silverado is another highly ranked truck, although surprisingly on the older end of the full-size truck list compared to competitors, most recently being revised in 2019. It has a respectable towing capacity, simple and easy-to-use tech features, and a variety of powerful engine options. It loses some points for being a fairly bumpy ride but gets some additional points for its fuel efficiency. A bit smaller than some other popular trucks, it ranks as the #2 compact pickup truck on the market.
- Overall rating: 7.8 out of 10
- Critics review: 7.7⁄10
- Performance: 8.3⁄10
- Interior: 6.7⁄10
- Safety: not rated
- Quality & Reliability: 82⁄100
Chevy Colorado
The Colorado, like its larger siblings, has an intelligent infotainment system and one of the strongest towing capabilities in the class. It won’t win anyone over with its interior setup compared to other Chevy trucks and competitors, but few competitors can match up with the diesel engine and fuel efficiency.
- Overall rating: 7.8⁄10
- Critics’ Rating: 7.7⁄10
- Performance: 8.3⁄10
- Interior: 6.7⁄10
- Safety: not rated
- Quality & Reliability: 82⁄100
WHAT TO DO IF A DEALER REFUSES TO CANCEL EXTENDED WARRANTY
Car buying can occasionally be frustrating, especially if you’re purchasing your vehicle through a dealership. We’re here to tell you how to navigate a situation in which a dealer refuses to cancel your extended warranty.
Are Chevys good cars? The final answer
While not rated terribly high according to critics, Chevy is still one of the higher-rated brands by customers and has overall performance in the mass production category. Lincoln, Jeep, Chevy, and Acura all tied for second overall only behind Honda for total reliability. Chevy doesn’t make great sedans or compact vehicles and has mainly seen success in the sports and truck categories, the brand does have strong options in these areas.
Chevy doesn’t have a huge lineup compared to some other brands that see success in the US market and downsizing the sedan lineup in recent years has allowed the company to focus on its key vehicles. If you are in the market for a sedan there are probably better options, but trucks and sports vehicles from Chevy are consistently reliable.
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