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the-most-reliable-cars-you-can-buy-–-and-the-least

That means buyers have more choice than ever when it comes to choosing their next car, but it also poses some serious questions about quality, dependability and dealer service. 

Should you buy a new electric or hybrid model, or stick with the tried and tested petrol and diesel alternatives? It’s an important question that the annual What Car? Reliability Survey can help to answer. That’s because our survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, reveals the real-life experiences of nearly 22,000 car owners providing a great indication of which cars are the most dependable and which ones cause the most headaches. We’ll tell you the most reliable cars in each class – and the least. Let’s take a look:

There’s been a significant shift in the new car market in the past year or two, with a massive increase in the number of hybrid and pure electric models being offered by existing brands and some newer ones.

1: Suzuki Swift (2017-present) The Swift trumped all its rivals to take the accolade of most dependable small car. A mere 4% of the owners who completed our survey reported any issues with their cars, and the only area to give them any grief was the interior trim. All remedial work was completed in a day or less, demonstrating that faults were minor. Even better, all work was done for free. What went wrong? Interior trim 4%. 99.5%

2nd: Toyota Yaris Hybrid (2011-2020) – 99.3%

3rd: Toyota Yaris Hybrid (2020-present) – 98.6%

Small Cars – class average 95.1%

Audi A1 Sportback (2018-present) A quarter of A1 owners told us their cars had gone wrong, and the problems weren’t easy or cheap to fix. Although 50% of repairs were carried out for free, 25% of them cost between £201 and £500, and the other 25% exceeded £1500. Three[1]quarters of the faulty cars could still be driven, and a quarter were back on the road within a day, but the rest were stuck in the garage for more than a week. What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 21%, bodywork 7%, sat-nav/infotainment 4%. 87.3%

2nd: Seat Ibiza (2017-present) – 87.3%

3rd: Vauxhall Corsa (2014-2019) – 91.2%

Small Cars – Least reliable

1: BMW 1 Series (2011-2019) The previous-generation 1 Series is proving to be a remarkably dependable family car. None of the owners who completed our survey reported their cars as having suffered any faults at all over the previous 24 months.&nbsp; What went wrong? Nothing. 100.0%

2nd: Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid (2016-2022) – 99.2%

3rd: Mini Clubman (2015-present) – 97.9%

Family cars – class average 90.1%

1: Audi A3 Sportback (2020-present) A whopping 59% of A3 owners’ cars went wrong in the past two years, the majority of faults concerning the infotainment and other electrical systems. The good news is that 97% of issues were resolved for free, and the few that weren’t cost owners less than £300. Remedial work was slow, though; 70% of the faulty cars were in the workshop for more than seven days. What went wrong? Sat-nav/ infotainment 44%, non-engine electrics 22%, bodywork and interior trim 11%, engine electrics 7%, gearbox/clutch 7%, battery 4%. 71.8%

2nd: Volkswagen Golf (2020-present) – 76.3%

3rd: Skoda Octavia (2020-present) – 77.6%

Family cars – Least reliable

1st: Lexus IS (2013-2020) The Lexus IS never really caught on as an executive toy, but those who own one are a contented bunch because it’s exceptionally durable. Only 12% we were told about suffered any problems and all were fixed for free by Lexus. The faults appear to have been minor because all cars could still be driven and half were in and out of the garage the same day.

Owner’s view: “It’s been the most reliable car I’ve owned in 50 years of driving.”

What went wrong? Battery 6%, brakes 6%

2nd: BMW 5 Series (petrol)(2017-present)

3rd: BMW 3 Series Petrol/PHEV (2019-present)

Executive cars - Class average 91.1%

1 Audi A6 (2018-present) The A6 saloon has been blighted by a range of electrical issues: 44% had a fault, two-thirds concerning engine and non-engine electrical systems or the sat-nav/ infotainment. Although 83% could still be driven, 46% took more than a week to put right. However, 97% were repaired for free, and none cost more than £200. 76.3%.

Owner’s view: “The software should have been better tested; there are bugs in the adaptive cruise control system”

What went wrong? Engine electrics 22%, sat-nav/infotainment 22%, non-engine electrics 19%, gearbox/clutch 11%, bodywork 7%, interior trim 7%, air-con 4%, brakes 4%, engine 4%, steering 4%

2nd: Alfa Romeo Giulia (2016-present) - 77.3%

3rd: BMW 3 Series diesel (2019-present) – 78.0%

Executive cars – Least reliable

1: Porsche Cayenne (2018-2023) Luxury SUVs are tech-laden and often suffer more woes than other types of car, but the Cayenne bucks this trend with a near-perfect reliability record. Only 6% of Cayennes in our survey went wrong, and all remedial work was done for free. The only blot on the model’s reliability copybook is that all affected cars were off the road for a week or longer. 98.7%

Owner’s view “Mine is my second example and neither has ever let me down.”

What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 6%

2nd: Jaguar XJ (2010-2019) – 95.8%

3rd: Range Rover (2013-2022) – 95.6%

Luxury cars - Class average 90.3%

1st: Mercedes-Benz GLE (2019-present) The GLE has a higher fault rate than you’d want from a luxury SUV, with 44% of those in our survey suffering at least one glitch. Every affected car could still be driven and half of the faults were fixed in a day or less, but 42% of the affected cars spent more than a week in the garage. At least all necessary remedial work was carried out for free. 87.6%

What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 25%, bodywork 19%, interior trim 13%, exhaust 6%, sat-nav/ infotainment 6%, suspension 6%

2nd: Range Rover Sport (2014-2022) &nbsp;- 91.1%

3rd: Audi Q8 (2019-present) – 93.2%

Luxury cars – Least reliable cars

1: Suzuki Ignis (2016-present) The Ignis is one of the smallest SUVs you can buy, so it may not suit everyone, but it is the most dependable. Just 5% of the cars we were told about had a failure. Although issues with the gearbox/clutch could be serious, they were resolved swiftly and cheaply: all cars were back on the road in less than a day and all remedial work was done for free. What went wrong? Gearbox/clutch 5%. 99.4%.

Owner’s view “So pleased I chose this little beauty; it’s just so dependable”

2nd: Mazda CX-3 (2016-present) – 98.3%

3rd: Hyundai Kona (2017present) &nbsp;- 98.2%

Small SUVs - Class average 94.4%

1st: Citroën C3 Aircross (2017-present)&nbsp;The C3 Aircross isn’t ageing well. 29% percent of the cars we were told about went wrong, suffering issues in a wide range of areas. Although Citroën covered the cost of 71% of repairs, 14% of owners paid up to £500 for their cars to be fixed, and another 14% paid more than £1500. No repairs were swift: 43% spent up to a week in the workshop and the rest were there longer than that. 84.3% 

2nd: MG ZS petrol (2017-present)– 87.7%

3rd: Skoda Kamiq &nbsp;(2019-present) - 88.6%

Small SUVs Class - least reliable

1st: Lexus NX (2014-2021) If you want a dependable family SUV, there’s one brand that should be at the top of your shopping list. Lexus’s hybrid NX takes the top two places here with almost perfect reliability credentials. Just 2% of the previous-generation NXs reported on suffered any hiccups, and all issues were resolved in a day or less by dealerships at no cost to owners. What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 2%. 99.8%.

2nd: Lexus NX (2021-present) – 99.4%

3rd: Lexus UX (2019-present) – 99.3%

Family SUVs - Class average 92.6%

1st: Skoda Karoq diesel (2017-present) Diesel-engined Karoqs have a similar fault rate to petrol ones – 23% wrong, compared with 22% of petrols – but the former are costlier and slower to fix. Only 56% of diesels were fixed for free (93% of petrols were), with 31% costing owners more than £1500. Half of the faulty diesel Karoqs were in for repair for more than a week, compared with 10% of petrols. 80.8%

Owner’s view “My Karoq was in for 35 days with a water leak that cost £4000 to fix – not good enough for a car with just 15,000 miles on it”

What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 15%, bodywork 8%, engine electrics 5%, engine 3%, gearbox/clutch 3%, interior trim 3%, sat-nav/infotainment 3%

2nd: Cupra Formentor (2020-present) – 81.5%

3rd: Range Rover Evoque (2019-present) – 82.7%

Family SUVs – Least reliable

1st: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2019-present) As well as being frugal, the hybrid RAV4 is a dependable choice, with just 2% of them going wrong. Remedial work wasn’t always swift: half of the faulty cars took up to seven days to put right and a quarter were out of action for more than a week. Three-quarters of work was done for free, but the remainder cost owners up to £200. 98.7%

Owner’s view: “It was expensive to buy, but it’s been 100% reliable”

What went wrong? Battery 2%, non-engine electrics 1%, sat-nav/infotainment 1%

2nd: Lexus RX (2016-2022) – 98.6%

3rd: Volvo XC60 petrol/hybrid (2017-present) – 97.9%

Large SUVs - Class average 92.9%

1st: Ford Kuga diesel (2013-2020) Diesel versions of the Kuga went wrong more often than petrols (28% versus 20%), and they took longer to fix; 28% of cars we were told about were off the road for more than a week, whereas all petrols were fixed within seven days. Ford paid for 80% of repairs on Kuga diesels, but 4% of owners had to pay up to £1500. 85.0%

Owner’s view “A great car that’s let down by some poor parts, like a battery that couldn’t cope with extra factory-fitted equipment.”

What went wrong? Battery 14%, non-engine electrics 14%, engine electrics 9%, interior trim 5%, sat-nav/infotainment 5%, air-con 2%, bodywork 2%, brakes 2% , exhaust 2%, suspension 2%

2nd: MG HS (2019-on) – 86.9%

3rd: Range Rover Velar (2017-present) – 87.0%

Large SUVs – Least reliable

1st: Volvo XC90 (2015-present) Although 25% of the XC90s we were told about had suffered a fault, none was costly or time-consuming to put right. Very few of the afflicted cars were undriveable, and 50% of the issues were sorted within a day. Volvo and its dealers covered the cost of all remedial work.

Owner’s view “My car is a hybrid, and I’m impressed with its reliability”

What went wrong? Non-engine electrics 7%, battery 4%, exhaust 4%, fuel system 4%, sat-nav/infotainment 4%, suspension 4%

2nd: Audi Q7 (2015-present) – 92.8%

3rd: Skoda Kodiaq petrol (2016-present) – 92.2%

Seven-seaters - Class average 90.4%

1st Seat Tarraco (2018-present) The Tarraco is closely related to the Skoda Kodiaq, but it doesn’t share that model’s dependability. Owners told us a hefty 44% of their Tarracos went wrong, with faults in a broad spectrum of areas. Still, 76% of those issues were resolved in a day or less, and 69% of the remedial work was done for free. Of the owners who had to pay for the repairs, none had to find more than £200.

Owner’s view: “My car’s windscreen wipers seem to have a mind of their own and the engine stop-start system works only intermittently.”

What went wrong? Engine 19%, non-engine electrics 19%, sat-nav/ infotainment 19%, air-con 13%, bodywork 6%, interior trim 6%

2nd: Land Rover Discovery Sport (2014-present) – 88.0%

3rd: Peugeot 5008 (2017-present) – 90.5%

Seven-seaters – Least reliable

1st Mini Electric (2020-present) The Mini Electric is proving just as dependable as the brand’s petrol-powered models. Only 7% of survey respondents reported any issues with their cars, with none being serious enough to render any cars undriveable. Mini covered the cost of all remedial work, and although no cars were fixed in a day, all were back on the road in less than a week. 97.6%

Owner’s view: “I’ve had only one minor fault that was fixed under warranty.”

What went wrong? Battery 7%, motor electrics 7%

2nd: Volkswagen Golf (2013-2020) – 97.2%

3rd: Nissan Leaf (2019-present) – 96.9%

Electric cars - Class average 90.6%

1st: Porsche Taycan (2019-present) The Taycan may be one of the fastest electric cars you can buy, but it’s not one of the most reliable. Of the cars in our survey, a hefty 46% went wrong, with owners citing the air-con and infotainment system as the main trouble spots. All remedial work was done for free, but two-thirds of the stricken cars were out of action for more than a week. 66.%

Owner’s view: “My car is off the road with a failed heater matrix, and Porsche cannot predict how long the repair will take.”

2nd: Hyundai Ioniq Electric (2016-2022) – 75.5%

3rd: 3 MG 4 EV (2022-present) &nbsp;- 76.1%

Electric cars – Least reliable

1st: Ford Mustang Mach-E (2020-present) Ford may not have as much experience at making electric cars as some other brands (the Mustang Mach-E being its first of the modern era), but you’d never know it, if this car’s reliability is any indication. Of the owners who responded to our survey, not a single one reported a fault with their car, making the Mach-E the brand’s most dependable model. 100%.

Owner’s view: “One of the best cars I’ve owned; definitely the most reliable.”

What went wrong? Nothing

2nd: BMW iX3 (2021-present) – 99.3%

3rd: Tesla Model Y (2021-present) – 97.4%

Electric SUVs - Class average 90.5%

1st: Vauxhall Mokka Electric (2020-present) Slow and sometimes costly repairs were the main bugbears for the 13% of Mokka Electric owners whose cars went wrong. Of that group, 40% of cars were rendered undriveable, and half were out of action for more than a week. Although 90% of cars were fixed for free, the remainder cost more than £1500 to put right. 60.6%.

Owner’s view: “Just two days after I got it, my car needed around £8500 worth of work done to it. Thankfully, it was fixed under warranty.”

What went wrong? Battery 40%, sat-nav/infotainment 27%, air-con 13%, bodywork 13%, motor 13%, motor electrics 13%, non-motor electrics 13%, steering 13%

2nd: Jaguar I-Pace (2018-present) – 85.9%

3rd: Audi E-tron (2019-present) – 92.6%

Electric SUVs – Least reliable

1st Audi TT (2014-present) The Audi TT looks great, is fun to drive and, above all, is dependable. A mere 7% of the cars reported on had any issues – all relating to the air-con system – and all of those were resolved at no cost to owners. All the faulty cars could still be driven, and only the fact that niggles took up to a week to repair took some of the gloss from the ownership experience. 98.4%

Owner’s view: “My first TT was reliable enough to prompt me to buy my second”

What went wrong? Air-con 7%

2nd: Mercedes-Benz CLA (2019-present) – 97.9%

3rd: 3 Mini Convertible (2016-present) – 97.1%

Coupés/convertibles/sports cars - Class average 92.6% 

1st: BMW 4 Series Coupé/Convertible (2014-2020) The 4 Series isn’t particularly prone to problems, but when they do occur, they can be pricey and slow to fix. BMW covered the cost of only 42% of repairs, leaving nearly half the owners with bills of up to £1500 and 8% paying more than that. Overall, 21% of cars went wrong, and while 42% were fixed in a day or less, 50% took more than a week to put right. 83.0%

Owner’s view: “I’ve spent more than £3000 in the past year due to a coolant leak and resultant damage to the wiring harness – very disappointing”

What went wrong? Battery 9%, bodywork 9%, non-engine electrics 6%, air-con 3%, brakes 3%, fuel system 3%. 86.6%

2nd: Volkswagen Arteon (2017-present) – 86.6%

3rd Porsche 911 (2019-present) – 87.3%

Coupés/convertibles/sports cars – Least reliable

Not for the first time, in this survey we’re been reminded why Japanese firms seem to build so many dependable cars; indeed Japan-based firms occupy half of the top 10; Toyota and sibling Lexus both scored almost perfect 100% scores.&nbsp; Mini isn’t far behind, with its EV version at the top of the all-electric tree. Jaguar and Vauxhall were let down by their software and battery faults, while owners of VW-group cars have all complained of faults related to infotainment systems, digital instrument panels and driver assistance systems.

And finally… Reliability by brand

The most reliable cars you can buy – and the least

In our exhaustive annual survey, we rate the dependability of cars up to five years old, based on the experiences of owners

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The most reliable cars you can buy – and the least

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