How reliable is your car? - Renault to Seat

RENAULT 25th
2005 position 25th
Claims per 100 vehicles 44.7
Average age 4.7 years
Average mileage 46,785
Average repair cost £288
Average repair time2.5 hours

Problem areas
One bald fact tells the story: 44.7% of Renault owners had to have repairs on their cars. It's a high strike rate, and it puts the French make near the foot of the reliability league table.

Axle and suspension woes blighted almost 40% of the Clios affected and more than 30% of the Lagunas that had repairs done. Electrical glitches accounted for more than 40% of repairs on '99-'02 Meganes.

However, owners will be relieved to hear that labour rates aren't too monstrous - an average of £47 an hour puts Renault in the wallet-friendly league.

Best model Clio ('91-'98)
Worst model Espace ('97-'02)

Verdict *
The Renault Espace (1997-02) is at the foot of What Car?'s reliability table for the second year running. Hopefully, the next-generation Espace will prove to be more solid.

ROVER 12th
2005 position 27th
Claims per 100 vehicles 30.5
Average age 4 years
Average mileage 39,173
Average repair cost £294
Average repair time2.9 hours

Problem areas
Rover's reputation for poor unreliability is pretty unfounded. In fact, owning a Rover is not that scary a proposition if you have a later model - the 45 was 11th and the 25 was 13th in the overall league table.

Half of the 25s that needed repairs had work on their electrics and 19% had engine faults. The major problems for 45 owners relate to the axle and suspension. The 600 also suffered its fair share of electrical glitches - almost 40% of cars which visited the workshop needed work in this area. Labour rates are comparatively cheap: the average hourly rate is £43.

Best model 25 ('99-'05)
Worst model 800 ('91-'99)

Verdict ***
It appears the 25 and the 45 are a safe bet: the older Rover models, predictably, have proved unreliable.

SAAB 23rd
2005 position 29th
Claims per 100 vehicles 41.6
Average age 4.7 years
Average mileage 57,716
Average repair cost £321
Average repair time2.4 hours

Problem areas
Although the table shows Saab well down the list, there are no glaring problem areas on the 9-3 and the 9-5 - just a wide spread of niggles. The biggest issues on the 9-3 were with the axle and suspension - 25% of the cars needing repairs had work done on this particular area. The 9-5's weakest link was its electrical system, with more than 30% of cars affected reporting problems here. Interestingly, the older 900 proved more reliable than the later 9-3 and 9-5.

Best model 900 ('93-'98)
Worst model 9-5 ('97-'01)

Verdict *
The telling statistic for Saab is that more than 44% of cars needed repairs. Both the 9-3 and the 9-5 finished well down the table.

SEAT 21st
2005 position 12th
Claims per 100 vehicles 40.1
Average age 3.5 years
Average mileage 43,140
Average repair cost £223
Average repair time2.2 hours

Problem areas
More than 35% of the Leons that visited workshops suffered electrical problems, and 29% of them had issues with their heating and cooling systems. If a Seat breaks down, it'll spend an average of two hours in the workshop, and you are likely to be charged £60 an hour for labour.

Best model Leon ('00-)
Worst model na (one model in survey)

Verdict *
The Leon finished well down the order and that affected Seat's overall position in the manufacturers' table.

Click here for a manufacturers' reliability table.