Consumer Reports' annual reliability survey predicts continued troubles for European automakers with 2005 vehicles.

Not only didn't European automakers have even one model among the top vehicles, they dominated the list of vehicles with the worst predicted reliability ratings.

Ten of the 11 sedans with Consumer Reports' lowest predicted reliability rating were European, including such high-priced models as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class, and six-cylinder version of the C-Class; the Jaguar S-Type and X-Type; and the BMW 7 Series and 5 Series. Most of Volkswagen's models, including the Golf, Jetta, and New Beetle, also rated far below average for reliability. The four-cylinder version of the Passat has been troublesome in the past, but VW seems to have gotten the bugs out of that version. Only the all-wheel-drive version of the Passat received the lowest rating in CR's survey.

A full half of the sedans and small cars that earned Consumer Reports' highest reliability rating are made by Toyota, including the Lexus and Scion brands. Top models were the Lexus IS300, Toyota Prius, the previous-generation Acura RL, Scion xB, and Toyota Corolla.

The only domestic cars to earn the highest reliability rating are the Buick Regal (discontinued for 2005) and the Pontiac Grand Prix (non-supercharged). For the first time, Hyundai earned a spot on CR's list of most reliable cars with its Sonata.

This year, the magazine had the largest-ever response to its annual survey ever, allowing the nonprofit organization to compile reliability portraits on more than 810,000 vehicles, up from 675,000 vehicles in 2003 and 480,000 in 2002.

As in past surveys, the most reliable vehicles were built by Japanese manufacturers. Among the 32 models with the highest reliability rating in the new survey, 29 carry Japanese nameplates, with Toyota (16) and Honda (7) claiming the most. Among the 38 models with the lowest rating, 20 are European.

The survey also shows that gas/electric hybrid vehicles appear to be holding up well thus far; the Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid were among the most reliable cars.