2011's most reliable cars

We look at which manufacturer, and which model, is the most reliable based on frequency of failures and repair costs.
For 2012's most reliable cars, please read 2012's most reliable cars
I live in Munich, home of BMW, where half the city seems to work for the car firm in some capacity. Even I do some translation work for it in my spare time. The car manufacturer's attention to detail on safety, reliability and performance, astounds me. They are perfectionists.
That's why it surprised me that it has not come out too well in Warranty Direct's reliability index, being in just 26th place. Indeed, German cars score relatively badly, on the whole.
Warranty Direct compiles its figures from around 50,000 car-warranty policies, each of which represents one car. It ranks both manufacturers and individual models on reliability, based on the frequency of failure and repair costs.
Which manufacturer is the most reliable?
Top of the manufacturers' table is Chevrolet. It scores 20 points in a points system where the closer you get to zero, the better. Land Rover comes out worst with 206 points.
Chevrolet is a bit of an anomaly, however, because Warranty Direct has few Chevrolet policies, which makes the manufacturer's position in the index more susceptible to chance. Although the manufacturers' reliability index generally requires there to be at least 50 cars, this is still quite a low number, so it may be we can't take Chevrolet's position too seriously.
The number two on the list, Honda, could be our first real contender, as it has more cars insured by Warranty Direct, and so it's probably more accurate. Honda scores an impressively low 30 points.
Manufacturers' reliability index
Rank |
Manufacturer |
Reliability score |
Age (rank) |
1 |
Chevrolet |
20 |
1 |
2 |
Honda |
30 |
23 |
3 |
Suzuki |
41 |
4 |
4 |
Toyota |
56 |
25 |
5 |
Hyundai |
57 |
36 |
6 |
Lexus |
59 |
31 |
7 |
Subaru |
59 |
32 |
8 |
Skoda |
66 |
7 |
9 |
Kia |
67 |
3 |
10 |
Smart |
68 |
2 |
11 |
Ford |
68 |
16 |
12 |
Citroen |
68 |
8 |
13 |
Fiat |
68 |
26 |
14 |
Mitsubishi |
71 |
29 |
15 |
Daewoo |
76 |
33 |
16 |
Peugeot |
76 |
24 |
17 |
Mazda |
76 |
5 |
18 |
Nissan |
77 |
13 |
19 |
Seat |
89 |
10 |
20 |
Vauxhall |
91 |
18 |
Age might have something to do with it
The 50,000 vehicles used to compile this index are of varying age. Naturally, older cars will normally have had more use out of them, and so they will have become less reliable. That's why we should adjust the rankings to reflect the age of the vehicles used.
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See the guideThe Chevrolets used in the index have the lowest average age of 3.7 years, making its first place on reliability even less impressive. Suzuki was assisted to third place on reliability by the relatively young age of its vehicles, too.
This bumps up Honda, Toyota and Hyundai from second, third, and fifth.
Yes, Honda is our winning manufacturer
Although Hyundai was third of the three, it has a reliability score just one point higher than Toyota's at 57 points, but the average age of the Hyundais in the index is more than six years versus the Toyotas' average of 5.1 years. Therefore the Hyundais have shown themselves to be more reliable at an older age, so I rank it second, above Toyota.
The Hondas average just 5.1 years old too, but with the manufacturers much better reliability score of 30 it takes first place.
To defend my sometimes employer, the BMWs used in the index are on average the 28th oldest, so in that regard coming 26th on reliability doesn't seem so bad.
Top individual models
Warranty Direct also has an index for 240 individual models. Again, to make the list there generally needs to be at least 50 vehicles of the model type.
Warranty Direct reveals the top ten most reliable cars as well as the bottom ten:
Models' reliability index – top 10
Rank |
Model |
Reliability score |
Mileage |
1 |
Toyota Corolla |
4 |
61,000 |
2 |
Suzuki Alto |
7 |
27,000 |
3 |
Honda HR-V |
8 |
54,000 |
4 |
Ford Fiesta |
14 |
51,000 |
5 |
Honda Jazz |
16 |
33,000 |
6 |
Volvo S40 |
18 |
57,000 |
7 |
Mazda 2 |
20 |
28,000 |
8 |
Mitsubishi Colt |
21 |
31,000 |
9 |
Lexus IS |
21 |
43,000 |
10 |
Toyota Yaris |
22 |
50,000 |
As you can see from the table, the Toyota Corolla does particularly well with an almost perfect reliability score of just four, even though the average mileage of the Corollas used in the index is very high.
Now the losers:
Models' reliability index – Bottom 10
Rank |
Model |
Reliability score |
Mileage |
1 |
Mercedes-Benz SL |
349 |
37,000 |
2 |
Mercedes-Benz CL |
327 |
58,000 |
3 |
Land Rover Range Rover |
295 |
71,000 |
4 |
Mercedes-Benz S-Class |
287 |
64,000 |
5 |
Nissan Pathfinder |
269 |
50,000 |
6 |
Renault Espace |
264 |
52,000 |
7 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee |
256 |
59,000 |
8 |
Mercedes-Benz V-Class |
248 |
72,000 |
9 |
Renault Vel Satis |
247 |
62,000 |
10 |
Citroen C8 |
238 |
50,000 |
My colleagues at BMW will be pleased to see so many of their Stuttgart enemies, Mercedes, in the bottom pile. The Mercedes-Benz SL comes out worst with a hideous score of 349.
I don't think this index is perfect. Notice that the worst-rated cars have, on average, much more mileage than the top ten. Low numbers of models may also influence the position of a model on the table, and a single outstanding vehicle, if particularly popular, could boost or punish the manufacturers' rankings too. But I think the reliability index could be a useful extra guide when you're comparing your own car or looking to buy a new one.
How reliable are the most popular cars?
Finally, based on searches on the popular UK website Autotrader, we can guess what the most popular cars are. Here's how the top five most popular cars score on reliability:
Reliability of UK's most popular cars
(Ranked by popularity)
Rank |
Model |
Reliability score |
Mileage |
1 |
BMW 3 Series |
74 |
42,000 |
2 |
Volkswagen Golf |
95 |
48,000 |
3 |
Ford Focus |
53 |
38,000 |
4 |
Vauxhall Astra |
66 |
41,000 |
5 |
Audi A4 |
103 |
45,000 |
Of the UK's most popular cars, the Ford Focus wins on reliability.
Reliability isn't everything. Autotrader says the BMW has low running costs and emissions, and cutting-edge technology, whereas the Golf holds its value surprisingly well. And that's not to mention comfort, style and performance. These aren't accounted for in the index.
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Comments
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The issue of buying a long term rot box is partially valid, even though the majority of vehicles are very rust resistant these days. There have notably been several late 90's and early 2000's Mercedes which have terrible bodywork issues and most Mazdas are prone to rear arch problems unless cleaned in that area with great dedication and given some extra corrosion protection. Toyota seem to have the most consistent quality of bodywork, but other manufacturers have some particular unexpected gems. I have a 2001 Chrysler Neon which has been impeccably reliable and has perfect bodywork. Overall I'd still rank reliability and spares costs ahead of potential corrosion problems. I can't think of any new vehicle which would be likely to have terminal corrosion within 15 years if reasonably looked after. Extreme conditions of farm tracks and animal waste aside, modern vehicles are now extremely durable, whatever corner of the world they come from. Just on a personal note, whilst I have owned several Volkswagens and admire their strength and bodywork quality, I think the reputation of reliability is very much exaggerated.
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Does reliability cover body work. I currently run a 1996 Peugeot 205 1.8 TD which I have had for 6 1/2 years. What a fantastic little car it has been! My OH wants me to think about what I could possibly replace it with when the inevitable happens and I as I get quite attached to my cars I would like something that has some longevity in it. I have given some thought to what I would like but I'm afraid of buying a car that whilst it may be reliable, could also turn out to be a rot box. Any ideas?
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Just to say I drove a VW Golf convertible for 9 years only real problem was the alarm that I had fitted after buying it 92,000 miles and on trips to France came back well laden. Latest car Vauxhall/Opel Zafira 2nd hand in 2002 95,000 miles and still can hold it's own when hurrying for a ferry.
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08 July 2011