K-A

I went from 4 straight M-B's to a BMW now to a first year Macan, I'd say that reliability isn't highest on my list.

Again, I was replying to a post stating that M-B's reliability has gone down dramatically and it's apparently mostly caused by newer models such as the CLA, GLA and S Class. And now the new C is apparently seeing big quality issues.

Do Porsche's have issues? They're a performance car manufacturer who's especially boutique compared to Mercedes and BMW, of course. However, they seem to still be at the top of reliability rankings year after year (unless something dramatically changed on this years). Whether Porsche is more reliable than M-B, who knows, I expect M-B to be since they're more of a regular commuter car company. If my Macan has issues, I guess it'll be an excuse for me to go the Porsche dealership and make sure I choose one that gives me a Cayman as a loaner. Which brings another plus point for Porsche.... there's no fat in their lineup. With M-B or even BMW now, you can expect something pretty ho-hum and generally cheaper than the car you're paying for, as a loaner.

NYC993

not sure what realibility ranking you refer to? There are many - initial quality, which I think is what you are referring to. There is depentability study, which is based on few years of ownership. But there is no ranking beyod that as far as I know.

You are exactly right that Porsche is relatively niche car company and can get away with more faults than more mainstream models.

By the way, not sure what year Benzes your had, but 2009-2012 models have been pretty reliable. I've had GLK350 for 6 years with zero problems and very good build quality. The only serious problem is with tranny that affects a few cars with 4matic.

K-A

Yeah, I don't expect Porsche to be the utmost in reliability, but it is impressive, very impressive especially all things considered, how JD Powers and the like have them pinned at the top, year after year, still.

I had an '02, '06, '10 and '11 M-B. The later ones were much more reliable. However, even then, they were in dealers for little fit/finish or random quality issues. The 7G trans has been a POS from day 1, as far as I'm concerned, and not only is the performance barely moderate at best (far behind the ZF8 slushbox, let's not get into a dual clutch for its sake), but even newest implementations experience the same hiccups that ones from a decade ago now did.

M-B seems to be consistent in the sense where when they keep things simple and don't try and go too advanced on their cars, i.e just focusing on fundamental properties of engineering, then the cars have strong reliability (hence the W221 starting a big improvement after the chancy and tech-advanced previous generation). Then, when they get comfortable with their renewers quality reports, and start taking risks to some extents again, their quality seems to drop off, which seems to be happening right now. Lots of initial issues on the S and C Classes along with the CLA/GLA which is what's contributed to the big drop in initial-quality rankings (I believe JD Powers is the one I'm referring to).

tcsracing1

Sorry, I was refering to the CLA series.... the GLA actually looks pretty neat..

But going any smaller then a Macan is getting too small for any utility unless you are single...

faltinor

GLA 45 amg got the best engine in the world in terms of in line 4 cylinder 2.0 liter car. It also handle greats. Since it is merc and reliable do you think guys we can make it rally car? Stripped inside, roll bars, and hydraulic handbrake etc

NYC993

I'd disagree with every sentence based on my impressions from driving CLA and seeing GLA in very mild offroading (i.e. Exterior trip pieces falling off).

AMG engine runs so much boost I'm not sure how much hard driving it could take.