In association with MotorEasy
What Car? Reliability Survey: Most and least reliable car brands
In our annual Reliability Survey, we ask readers to rate the dependability of cars aged up to five years old. Here we rank the most and least reliable car manufacturers in the UK...
If you've decided on a specific car class or model, it will be helpful to check how well they rank for reliability in their respective sectors, but if you're not sure which one to go for, checking the brand rankings is a good place to start.
You may think that all fairly new cars have great reliability ratings, but the data collected for the annual What Car? Reliability Survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, shows just how different they can be.
Mini tops our brand dependability chart, closely followed by Lexus, while MG, Vauxhall and Alfa Romeo sit at the other end of the spectrum, with a difference of more than 21% separating the best from the worst.
Read on to find out which are the best and worst car brands for reliability.
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The most reliable car brands in the UK 2024
1. Mini
Reliability rating 98.3%
Mini is the highest rated car brand for reliability, posting strong performances across its line-up. All five of the Mini models we were told about had a very low fault rate, and all faulty cars could still be driven. Around 85% of affected vehicles were in and out of the garage in less than a week, and the car maker paid for 70% of repairs.
The Mini Countrymanwas the shining star of the range, with the small SUV scoring 99.7%, and the Mini Convertible not far behind on 99.2%. The British-built Mini Electric was the best performing electric car.
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2. Lexus
Reliability rating 97.9%
Although the luxury brand of Toyota has been toppled by Mini, it was at the top of our dependability chart for the previous seven years and still put in a good performance this year.
The reasons for this are twofold: its cars rarely go wrong, and when they do, its dealers fix the problems for free.
Its star performer is the 2014-2021 Lexus NX, which was the best family SUV and one of only two models this year to score a maximum 100% reliability rating.
The ES executive saloon claimed the top spot in its class, while the 2016-2022 Lexus RX was the top luxury car.
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3. Suzuki
Reliability rating 97.7%
Only 8% of Suzuki models owners told us they had any issues, and 50% of issues were resolved in less than a week. Three-quarters of faulty cars were fixed for free and most repair bills were less than £200.
With a score of 97.7%, the Vitara is its most robust model, followed by the 2017-2024 Swift on 95.7%.
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4. Honda
Reliability rating 96.6%
Honda used to top the charts for reliability, but it has been outstripped by other Japanese brands for the last few years. It’s still producing dependable cars, though, such as the Jazz Hybrid and Civic, both of which gained a score of 97.6%.
Overall, 15% of the Honda cars in the survey had a problem, with the bodywork and non-engine electrics the main culprits. Virtually all faulty cars could still be driven and 58% were in and out of the garage in a day or less. Even better news for owners is that Honda covered the cost of 85% of remedial work.
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5. Toyota
Reliability rating 96.1%
Toyota doesn’t match the near-faultless performance of Lexus, but it does produce some highly robust cars. In fact, some of its smallest, most affordable models are the highest achievers. The Aygo X is one of just two models to gain a full 100% reliability rating this year, and the Yaris looks dependable too, with a rating of 93.5%.
Larger models, such as the Toyota RAV4, which scored 98.8%, are also a sound choice if you’re after a hybrid family SUV.
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6. Dacia
Reliability rating 96.0%
The budget Renault brand has jumped from 11th place in last year’s survey to sixth position. The strongest performer in its line-up is the Duster, which gained an impressive rating of 98.8%. The Sandero looks pretty good, too, on 91.0%.
Owners told us they got a great level of service when things went wrong, with 95% of remedial work done for free and 47% of cars fixed in a day or less.
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7. Citroën
Reliability rating 94.1%
Citroën has really upped its game when it comes to reliability, rising from a mid-table position of 14th last year to seventh place in the latest survey. Owners told us that 16% of their cars went wrong, and the car maker covered the cost of 83% of remedial work. The only downside was that 48% of faults took more than a week to put right.
The C4 small SUV was the brand’s highest scorer, at 96.2%, followed by the C5 Aircross family SUV on 90.7%.
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8. BMW
Reliability rating 94.0%
Although it can’t match the lofty score of fellow brand, Mini, BMW is way ahead of its German prestige rivals for reliability. Overall, 17% of BMWs went wrong, with non-engine electrical issues the main bugbear. Owners told us that BMW footed the bill for 77% of repairs, and that two-thirds of cars were fixed in less than a week.
Most BMW models were rated highly for reliability, with the 1 Series the pinnacle of the range, scoring 98.7%, and the 3 Series and 5 Series a couple percentage points below it. While the latest 4 Series Coupe / Convertible gains 98.4%, the previous 2014-2020 version is the worst rated coupe/convertible with 79%. The pure electric iX also had a high percentage of faults.
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9. Renault
Reliability rating 93.6%
It’s a two-sided story when it comes to Renault reliability: the current Renault Captur and 2015-2022 Renault Kadjar gain high ratings thanks to encountering few faults, but the Renault Arkana and 2013-2024 Renault Zoe have far more issues.
Overall, 19% of Renault models went wrong and the French car maker covered the cost of 98% of remedial work. Sixty percent of cars were back on the road in less than a week.
Reliability rating 93.5%
Although Volvo has an overall fault rate of 18%, most problems were minor and were sorted out at little or no cost to owners, minimising the disruption. Hyundai paid for the repair work on 82% of faulty cars, most other bills were less than £200, and none topped £500.
Most of the models we reported on scored highly; the best were the 2017-2022 Hyundai Ioniq, which achieved 96.5%, the Hyundai Kona Hybrid on 99.0% and the 2018-2024 Hyundai Santa Fe on 98.9%.
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Least reliable car brands
1. MG
Reliability rating 76.9%
MG occupies the bottom place in our reliability survey, due to a high fault rate of 37% and slow repairs: 58% of faulty cars were out of action for more than a week.
The lowest scoring model in its line-up was the MG 4, with a rating of 63.8%, and the MG ZS EV wasn’t far behind on 69.3%. Only the MG5 gained a creditable 92.0%.
Read our MG reviews >
2. Alfa Romeo
Reliability rating 84.1%
Owners told us that 33% of their Alfa Romeo cars suffered a glitch, and some issues were slow and costly to put right.
A third of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio models reported on went wrong, and a third of faulty cars were in the workshop for more than a week. The Alfa Romeo Giulia was even worse: 55% of problematic cars took more than a week to repair. The car maker covered the cost of 83% of Giulia remedial work, and only 67% of Stelvios were fixed for free. Some (17%) of Giulia owners needed to pay more than £1500 apiece to get their cars fixed.
Reliability rating 84.7%
Vauxhall finished just above its Italian sister brand this year, with major faults causing headaches for some owners. Although the overall fault rate was fairly low, at 23%, when cars did go wrong they could be costly to repair: Vauxhall only covered the cost of 65% of repairs and some owners were left with bills in excess of £1500.
The lowest scoring model was the Vauxhall Mokka Electric, with a reliability rating of 65.6%, making it the least reliable electric SUV featured in the survey. The Vauxhall Corsa Electric failed to impress some owners, too, with a reliability rating of 72.2% and a 25% fault rate.
Read our Vauxhall reviews >
4. Nissan
Reliability rating 85.9%
While some Nissan models are paragons of dependability, others really let the side down. The worst offender was the Nissan Juke: 31% of the cars reported on had a fault, and most of them rendered the cars undriveable and took more than a week to fix. In contrast the Nissan Leaf scored 95.6% and had an 11% fault rate.
At brand level, although only 20% of cars went wrong, only 61% of repair bills were free, leaving nearly one in five owners with bills of more than £1500. Nearly half of cars with problems were out of action for more than a week.
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5. Land Rover
Reliability rating 87.1%
Land Rover has improved its standing in our reliability chart this year, due in part to two models: the Land Rover Defender and current and previous Range Rover Sport. The Defender is the second highest scoring seven-seater, with a rate of 96.3% and a 14% fault rate, and the 2014-2022 Range Rover Sport is the third best luxury car.
However, the 2011-2019 Range Rover Evoque stands out as the most problematic car in the range with a 37% fault rate and score of 73.8%.
Although Land Rover coughed up for 86% of remedial work, some owners were faced with bills of £1500 or more, and nearly half of faulty cars were out of action for more than seven days.
Read our Land Rover reviews >
6. Seat
Reliability rating 87.5%
Seat’s score and standing in our dependability chart has slipped this year, with Seat Ibiza and Seat Leon owners reporting high volumes of faults with their cars: 57% of Ibizas went wrong, along with 58% of Leons. The good news is that most repairs were carried out for free.
Overall, 35% of the Seat models we were told about had an issue, but virtually all cars could still be driven and nearly two-thirds were put right in less than a week.
Read our Seat reviews >
7. Fiat
Reliability rating 88.2%
The Italian small car specialist has taken a tumble this year: down to 25th place overall from 15th last year in the brand chart. Although the fault rate is reasonable, at 22%, Fiat and its dealers only paid out for 68% of fixes, leaving most of the other faulty car owners with bills of £501-£750.
This is evidenced by our data for the Fiat 500: the car maker only paid for 40% of remedial work on these problem-stricken cars.
Read our Fiat reviews >
8. Audi
Reliability rating 89.0%
Audi is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to dependability. The Audi Q2 is the second highest scoring small SUV, with a 99.5% rating and fault rate of just 3%, but the Audi Q7 is the least dependable seven-seater, with a rating of 80.8% and 33% fault rate. The Audi A6 also let the side down, with 50% of the cars we were told about suffering an issue.
The brand’s fault rate is high overall, at 29%, and 40% of cars took more than a week to fix. At least Audi covered the cost of 79% of repair work.
Read our Audi reviews >
9. Polestar
Reliability rating 89.3%
This is the first time we’ve had enough data to include Polestar in the annual Reliability Survey, and we only have data for the Polestar 2. Owners told us 33% of cars had an issue, mostly relating to electrical components, including the 12-volt battery and charging system. Although most cars could still be driven, 20% took more than a week to fix. The good news is that all work was carried out for free.
Read our Polestar reviews >
10. Mercedes
Reliability rating 89.7%
Although Mercedes performed better in the latest survey than Audi, both premium German brands fell far behind rivals, such as BMW and Volvo.
Low lights of the line-up included the 2017-2023 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé/Cabriolet, which scored 83.4% and had a fault rate of 47%, and the Mercedes GLE, of which 35% went wrong. In contrast, hybrid versions of the Mercedes A-Class only had an 11% fault rate, helping the model take the second spot in the family car class.
Overall, most faulty Mercedes models were fixed in less than a week and the car maker covered the cost of 91% of repairs.
Read our Mercedes reviews >
Brand reliability for cars aged up to five years old
| Rank | Brand | Reliability rating |
| 1 | Mini | 98.3% |
| 2 | Lexus | 97.9% |
| 3 | Suzuki | 97.7% |
| 4 | Honda | 96.6% |
| 5 | Toyota | 96.1% |
| 6 | Dacia | 96.0% |
| 7 | Citroen | 94.1% |
| 8 | BMW | 94.0% |
| 9 | Renault | 93.6% |
| 10 | Hyundai | 93.5% |
| 11 | Kia | 93.4% |
| 12 | Volvo | 92.8% |
| 13 | Skoda | 91.8% |
| 14 | Ford | 91.5% |
| 15 | Tesla | 91.4% |
| 16 | Mazda | 91.1% |
| 17 | Cupra | 90.6% |
| 18 | Volkswagen | 90.5% |
| 19 | Peugeot | 90.3% |
| 20 | Jaguar | 90.1% |
| 21 | Porsche | 90.0% |
| 22 | Mercedes | 89.7% |
| 23 | Polestar | 89.3% |
| 24 | Audi | 89.0% |
| 25 | Fiat | 88.2% |
| 26 | Seat | 87.5% |
| 27 | Land Rover | 87.1% |
| 28 | Nissan | 85.9% |
| 29 | Vauxhall | 84.7% |
| 30 | Alfa Romeo | 84.1% |
| 31 | MG | 76.9% |
How the survey was conducted
The What Car? Reliability Survey is open for responses from all drivers and car owners for six months, and it is sent out to whatcar.com readers and those who read What Car? magazine.
Anyone who reports a fault on their car in the previous 24 months is asked to rate the seriousness of the issue by telling us how much it cost to repair and how long it kept the car out of action. We also ask what area of the car was involved, giving people 16 different categories to choose from.
The data on cost of repairs and time off the road is collated for each model to create a unique reliability rating, and this is used to rank cars. The latest survey gained 29,697 responses and that enabled us to report on 199 models up to five years old from 31 different brands.
To read the reliability data for other car classes follow these links:
Most reliable cars (2024)
Most reliable small cars (2024)
Most reliable family cars (2024)
Most reliable executive cars (2024)
Most reliable luxury cars (2023)
Most reliable small SUVs (2024)
Most reliable family SUVs (2024)
Most reliable large SUVs (2023)
Most reliable seven-seaters (2023)
Most reliable electric cars (2024)
Most reliable electric SUVs (2023)
Most reliable sports cars (2023)
Most reliable diesel cars (2023)
Most reliable petrol cars (2023)
Most reliable hybrid cars (2023)
About the author
Claire Evans has been a motoring journalist for more than 30 years with a focus on consumer issues for much of that time. She was the advice columnist for Carweek magazine in the 1990s, and also spent six years working on motoring content for Which?.
Claire launched the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2017, and since then has helped thousands of buyers choose the most reliable new cars and SUVs, as well as the most dependable used cars.
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