The most and least reliable car brands on UK roads

Which motors are least likely to develop issues that cost you a packet to put right?

No motorist wants to have to make repeated trips to the garage to get issues ‒ both large and small ‒ with their car fixed.

Not only is it inconvenient, but the cost of having to constantly put right problems with your car can also quickly add up.

The experts at WhatCar have polled their users to find out which motors ‒ and which motoring brands are the most dependable, as well as which ones it’s best to sidestep if possible.

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10. Porsche

Luxury car brand Porsche takes tenth spot, with a reliability score of 85.3%. As the WhatCar? team pointed out, it’s a manufacturer that prides itself on making prestige motors that can be used every day, and that means delivering a motor that you can trust.

That score is particularly helped by the score of 88.1% achieved by the Macan.

9. Dacia

Dacia is known as a maker of cheap cars, but the fact that its motors don’t come with a massive price tag does not mean you should expect to spend a lot of time at the mechanics. The WhatCar? team recons this is down to “tried-and-trusted” engineering, as well as a lack of equipment that can go wrong in the first place.

Its Duster model is one of the top performers, with a score of 74.1%, though overall the manufacturer scored 85.8%.

8. Hyundai

Hyundai took eighth spot with a score of 86.5%, an impressive score. WhatCar? pointed out that its top performer is the i40, which has notched up an incredible score of 94.7%.

7. Mazda

Mazda is a Japanese car firm and you’ll notice that manufacturers from Japan and South Korea dominate this list.

It has a reputation anyway for delivering reliable cars, and that reputation is clearly well earned judging by its scores in the WhatCar? study. Overall it ratched up a score of 88.6%, but it’s worth noting the reliability rating of its Mazda 3 model, which scored an incredible 99.1%.

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6. Mitsubishi

It’s another Japanese manufacturer in sixth place in the form of Mitsubishi, which picked up a score of 89%.

To be honest, picking up a Mitsubishi is perhaps not the most straightforward move these days. It has not been a big seller here for some time, and it withdrew from the UK market completely this year, meaning that picking up parts for repairs in future could be more complicated. 

The top model is the Outlander, with a score of 95.6%.

5. Kia

Kia is next in the list, and even as its expanding its range of models on offer, it is keeping consistent with just how reliable they are.

Overall it scored 92%, though both the Sportage diesel and the regular Sportage are worth noting, having scored 97.6% and 93.3% respectively.

4. Honda

Honda takes fourth spot, scoring 92.4% overall. According to WhatCar? it has long been known for its rigorous quality standards, and that can pay dividends when it comes to reliability.

The CR-V petrol model from 2006-12 is the most reliable model, notching up a score of an eye-catching 95.8%.

3. Toyota

Yet another Japanese model in third place, Toyota picked up a rating of 92.4% overall.

WhatCar? pointed out that it views excellent product durability as a must, which is all the more notable given that much of its range features complicated hybrid options. Clearly that complexity doesn’t mean lowering standards.

The Toyota Yaris is worth highlighting here, with a score of a monster 98.5%.

2. Lexus

It’s a premium brand in second spot in the form of Lexus, which is of course owned by Toyota. Clearly those reliability standards are consistent across the group, with Lexus scoring 93.6% in total.

Highlights include the CT model which scored a fantastic 98.6%.

1.Suzuki

Suzuki may not be a big name in motoring in the UK, but when it comes to producing motors you can trust, then it’s ahead of the pack. According to the WhatCar? study, it scored a phenomenal 97%.

Its most reliable model is the Vitra which scored a peerless 100%.

Which brands should I avoid?

Of course, it’s one thing to know the most reliable car brands around, but which are the ones to avoid?

Here are the bottom ten according to the WhatCar survey and their overall reliability rating.

10. Mercedes-Benz ‒ 77.4%

9. Volkswagen ‒ 77.1%

8. Vauxhall ‒ 76.7%

7. Nissan ‒ 76.4%

6. Fiat ‒ 76.3%

5. Jaguar ‒ 74.9%

4. Renault ‒ 74.8%

3. Peugeot ‒ 73.5% 

2. Citroen ‒ 71.8%

1. Land Rover ‒ 65.3%

As you can see, the best performers in this list are not that far off the scores managed by some of the manufacturers in the top 10. However, when it comes to Land Rover, the score is pretty dreadful. 

The company has said previously that it is taking steps to improve its quality issues and reliability performance, but evidently there’s still a long way to go on that front.