10 Best Cars of Model Year 1980

The 10 Most Reliable and Durable Cars of Model Year 1980

This page lists the top ten cars of model year 1980 by reliability-and-durability grade point average (Reliability-Durability GPA or more concisely, R-D GPA).

1980's Top 10 Cars 

These 10 car classics are listed below in descending order of Reliability-Durability GPA (best first).

  • The Toyota Corolla, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 3.88

The 1980 Toyota Corolla came in either a 2-door, 2-door-hatchback, 4-door-sedan, or 4-door-wagon edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 110-cubic-inch (1.8-Liter), 75-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 13.2 gallons. The 4-door sedan has an overall length of 166 inches and an overall width of 63 inches. The Corolla's tire size is 165R13.

  • The Toyota (Corolla) Tercel, with a R-D GPA of 3.85

The 1980 Toyota Tercel came in either a 2-door or 2-door-hatchback edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 89-cubic-inch (1.5-Liter), 60-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 11.9 gallons. The 2-door has an overall length of 160 inches and an overall width of 61 inches. The Tercel's tire size is 145R13. The 1980 Toyota Tercel was Toyota's first front-wheel-drive car.

  • The Toyota Corona, with a R-D GPA of 3.82

The 1980 Toyota Corona came in either a 4-door-sedan, 4-door-hatchback, or 4-door-wagon edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 134-cubic-inch (2.2-Liter), 90-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 16.1 gallons. The 4-door sedan has an overall length of 175 inches and an overall width of 65 inches.

  • The Mercedes-Benz 240D, with a R-D GPA of 3.80

The 1980 diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz 240D came in a 4-door-sedan edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 146-cubic-inch (2.4-Liter), 67-horsepower engine, a 4-speed automatic or 4-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 17.2 gallons. The 4-door sedan has an overall length of 191 inches and an overall width of 70 inches.

  • The Toyota Celica, with a R-D GPA of 3.80

The 1980 Toyota Celica came in either a 2-door or 2-door-hatchback edition and with an inline 4-cylinder, 134-cubic-inch (2.2-Liter), 90-horsepower engine, a 3-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission, and a fuel capacity of 16.1 gallons. The 2-door has an overall length of 175 inches and an overall width of 65 inches.  The tire size is 175R14.

  • The Toyota Pickup Truck 2-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 3.79

The 1980 2-wheel-drive Toyota Pickup Truck came with an inline 4-cylinder, 2.0-Liter, 90-horsepower (67-kilowatt), 122-foot-pound-torque engine or an inline 4-cylinder, 2.2-Liter diesel engine.

  • The Toyota Cressida, with a R-D GPA of 3.76

The 1980 Toyota Cressida came in either a 4-door-sedan or 4-door-wagon edition and with an inline 6-cylinder, 156-cubic-inch (2.6-Liter), 110-horsepower engine, a 4-speed automatic transmission, and a fuel capacity of 17.2 gallons. It has an overall length of 185 inches and an overall width of 66 inches.

  • The Mercedes-Benz 300D Inline 5, with a R-D GPA of 3.74

The diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz 300D Inline 5 came in a 4-door-sedan edition and with an inline 5-cylinder, 183-cubic-inch (3.0-Liter), 83-horsepower engine, a 4-speed automatic transmission, an overall length of 191 inches, an overall width of 70 inches, and a fuel capacity of 21.1 gallons.

  • The Mazda RX-7, with a R-D GPA of 3.71
  • The Mercedes-Benz Turbodiesel Inline 5, with a R-D GPA of 3.68

Note that all ten of the best vehicles of 1980 had a Reliability-Durability Grade of A (in fact, all had a R-D GPA well exceeding 3.50). This contrasts sharply with the Top 10 of 1975, when only the top 6 had a R-D Grade of A. This grade and GPA improvement of the Top 10 reflects mainly the increased number of offerings by Toyota Motor Corporation and its success in maintaining quality in its new offerings.

Manufacturers of the Top 10 

Toyota Motor Corporation accounted for 6 of the most reliable and durable cars of 1980, an increase from 5 in 1978 and 1979 and 4 in 1975, 1976 and 1977. As in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, the 1980 Toyota Corolla placed first.

Daimler-Benz AG and Mazda Motor Corporation accounted for the remaining 4 of the best cars of 1980 - Daimler with 3 and Mazda with 1.

Japanese-built cars accounted for 7 of 1980's best cars; German-built cars accounted for the remaining 3. The Top 3 were all made by Toyota.

Note that in 1980 (as in 1979) none of the Detroit 3 had a car among the Top 10.

The following chart gives each car maker's percent share of the Top 10 of 1980. 

 

Additional Vehicles with a Reliability-Durability Grade of A (R-D GPA of 3.50 or Better)

The three additional vehicles with a R-D GPA of 3.50 or better, in descending order of GPA, are:

  • The Toyota Celica Supra, with a Reliability-Durability GPA of 3.62

The 1980 Toyota Celica Supra came in a 2-door-hatchback edition and with an inline 6-cylinder, 168.4-cubic-inch (2.8-Liter), 116-horsepower (87-kilowatt), 145-foot-pound-torque engine, and a 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission.

  • The Toyota Pickup Truck 4-wheel-drive, with a R-D GPA of 3.60

The 1980 4-wheel-drive Toyota Pickup Truck came with an inline 4-cylinder, 2.0-Liter, 90-horsepower (67-kilowatt), 122-foot-pound-torque engine.

  • Mitsubishi's Mighty Max rebadged as a Dodge D50, with a R-D GPA of 3.59

The Mitsubishi-engineered-and-built 1980 Dodge D50 came with either an inline 4-cylinder, 2.0-Liter, 93-horsepower (69-kilowatt) or an inline 4-cylinder, 2.6-Liter, 105-horsepower (78-kilowatt) engine.

All three were made in Japan.

Computations

To compute the reliability-durability grade point average of the MY 1980 cars, Consumer Reports' reliability ratings for the age ranges 4-to-5 years and 5-to-6 years are used.

CR's ratings are converted to numerical values following the standard academic pattern: a grade point of 4.0 (an A) is accorded a rating of Much Better Than Average, a 3.0 (a B) is accorded a rating of Better Than Average, a 2.0 (a C) is accorded a rating of Average, a 1.0 (a D) is accorded a rating of Below Average, and a 0 (an F) is accorded a rating of Much Below Average.

Then, for each age range, the grade point of CR's overall reliability rating is weighted 2/3 and the average of the grade points of the category ratings is weighted 1/3.

Finally, the average for the two age ranges is taken.

Best and Worst Vehicles of Each Model Year

The Best Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1975  1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005

The Worst Cars of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1980  1981  1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  ...  2004  2005 

Additional Resources

The Best Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Brands of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Best Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

The Worst Car Manufacturers of Each Model Year by Reliability-Durability GPA: 1985  1986 ...  2004  2005

Best Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 

Worst Car Brands by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Best Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid: 1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

Worst Car Makers by CR's List of Used Cars to Avoid:  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006

For additional car quality information, visit www.AutoOnInfo.net and CarsOnInfo.net.

In particular, for additional durability information, see:

http://www.AutoOnInfo.net/SharesOfHighMileageVehicles.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaAgeEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/ToyotaMileageEquivalents.aspx 
http://CarsOnInfo.net/Top25OfAutoonInfosHighMileageRoster.aspx

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