The most (and least) reliable used family cars 2023

Which family cars are most likely to stay on the road and which are a mechanic's dream?

When looking for a car, practicality and reliability are most likely to be at the top of anyone’s checklist, particularly if your family is expanding.

WhatCar? has taken a lot of the guesswork out of choosing a reliable and affordable car as its latest research reveals the top 10 used family cars – and those to avoid.

It polled its users on their experiences with their cars over the last couple of years, to get an insight into how often drivers had to turn to mechanics for repair work, and crucially how much those repairs set them back.

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The least reliable family cars

Let’s start with the family cars to avoid, the ones that are most likely to result in a costly trip to the garage.

Here are the least reliable, according to the WhatCar? study:

The worst of the bunch is the hybrid version, with almost half (46%) having a problem with their vehicle over the last two years.

The engine, non-engine electrics and air con were the most common areas to develop issues.

While the majority of cars were fixed under warranty (79%), around a sixth of those who had to pay for the repairs ended up paying up to £1,500.

There are also two Honda Civics to figure in the list.

Bottom place however goes to the latest generation of the Audi A3.

More than half of drivers (57%) had suffered an issue with their motor over the last two years, and in a third of cases this was down to problems with the sat nav or infotainment systems.

Almost another third was accounted for by electrical faults.

More than one in three (38%) A3s were unable to be driven because of those issues, with three quarters (76%) spending more than a week in the garage.

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The most reliable family cars

What about the other end of the scale, the vehicles that are least likely to leave you needing to head to the mechanic?

Here are the 10 most reliable family cars according to the latest WhatCar? data:

Just 6% of Auris drivers had an issue, according to WhatCar?, and the only problems were related to the bodywork.

What’s more, every model was fixed for free and within a day of the cars being left at the garage.

It was a similar story with the Lexus CT200h, where again only 6% of drivers had an issue.

In this case, the issues were all related to the suspension, the costs were covered by Lexus and the cars were all fixed within a day.

It’s also worth noting the Skoda Octavia, which takes ninth place. It is significant that this older generation has performed so well, given that the current generation ended up in the bottom three of the least reliable table.

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