Lexus is again No. 1 when it comes to brand reputation, according to the latest study by customer review and reputation management platform Widewail.

Toyota’s luxury brand topped the rankings for the second consecutive year in the 2025 Widewail Brand Scorecard, a study that examines and ranks the reputations of 29 auto brands in the U.S., with a “health score” of 97. Its sister brand Toyota was second at 96, while Honda barely overtook BMW for third, though both recorded identical scores of 95.

The study analyzed 8.1 million Google customer reviews among 18,000 American new-car dealers in 2023 and ‘24, using artificial intelligence to find and analyze trends in customer experience at scale. The reviews were used to rank each brand by its “health score,” a 100-point scale that measures the quality of its reputation.

The health score is based on four core reputation metrics: review response rate, star rating, lifetime review volume and monthly review volume. The score is relative, based on the other brands it is directly compared to. Core metrics were calculated by analyzing Google reviews from the dealership network for each OEM.

“Google reviews continue to have a critical impact on brand reputations, particularly in the retail automotive industry,” Widewail CEO Matt Murray said. “Direct and transparent customer experience data provides a window into what it’s like to interact with all aspects of an automotive brand. The 2025 Widewail Brand Reputation Scorecard is the industry’s only tool that gives automakers a full and clear picture of what is driving their reputation among the customers whose business they compete to earn.”

Lexus’ health score of 97 was built on quality and quantity. It led all brands in monthly review volume, just ahead of Toyota, which grew its review volume 26% in 2024. And Lexus’ 4.7 average star rating trailed only Porsche’s 4.8.

In those reviews, Widewail’s study found, Lexus outperformed the industry benchmark in 10 of the16 most-mentioned topics – notably professionalism, which was mentioned 36% more often than the industry average in positive reviews, and car repair/maintenance, which came up an industry-best 28% less often in negative reviews.

“Lexus maintained its position as the brand with the best reputation overall thanks to its impressive ability to efficiently activate the voice of its customers on a per-rooftop basis,” Murray said. “The company’s continued reputation success sets a high bar.”

Widewail said Toyota did a good job of minimizing negative reviews regarding service-oriented topics such as service department, communication and car maintenance/repair, but noted the 18% mentions of waiting time issues was more than typical. The brand also “slightly underperformed” in some common positive review topics.

The fine line between Honda and BMW came down to the review volume. Honda’s monthly review count grew 37% last year, while BMW’s were up just 7%, far below the industry’s 18% average.

Unlike Toyota, Honda outperformed the industry in many positive topics, with helpfulness seen as a strength of the brand. But it was hurt by negativity surrounding price and cost in comparison with Toyota and Lexus.

In its 2025 Auto Brand Scorecard Report, Widewail cited four brands that improved from the previous year, led by Acura, which jumped five places to 10th in the rankings thanks in large part to an industry-high 51% rise in median monthly review volume per rooftop that included a 53% increase in service reviews.

Acura was also strong among reviewers in professionalism and waiting time.

Land Rover and Volvo both were earned praise for their staff, with Land Rover leading all brands with 83% of its positive reviews mentioning the staff and Volvo recording the top improvement in that metric, which soared nearly 20% to carry the brand past the industry benchmark of 76% mentions.

And with negative mentions of staff growing 20% industrywide, just 5% of Genesis’ negative reviews referenced the staff.

On the flip side, MINI sank six spots in the reputation rankings, the most of any brand this year, falling to 23rd among the 29 brands. MINI was one of just four brands to lose review volume in 2024, and its 29% was the largest and only Volkswagen, down 22%, was even close. It also struggled with negativity related to staff, communication and knowledge.

Mercedes-Benz ranked ninth overall with a score of 92, but was the lowest-ranked brand for communication, which was mentioned in 45% of its negative reviews. And Jaguar’s 25% increase in negativity related to pricing was by far the worst among the studied brands.

Widewail’s full report is available here.