"The Kia Optima may look appealing, but our data shows it doesn't last as long as many other vehicles," said Bialaszewski.

It's easy to find a cheap car, and it's easy to find a reliable car. But to get both, and brand-new? That can be a challenge.

Morningstar Quantitative Ratings for Stocks are generated using an algorithm that compares companies that are not under analyst coverage to peer companies that do receive analyst-driven ratings.