Reliability survey 2011 - 7th-1st

Subaru 7th out of 35
Last year’s position 2nd out of 32
Cars needing repair work 17%
Average repair cost £339
Best model Legacy (’03-’09)
Worst model Legacy (’94-’03)

The two generations of Subaru Legacy in this year’s results have wildly differing average repair costs: the newer model has an average cost of £233, but the older car could land you with an invoice for £519. Subaru’s Forester (’02-’08) SUV is the fourth best in its class.

Mazda 6th out of 35
Last year’s position 6th out of 32
Cars needing repair work 16%
Average repair cost £463
Best model 2 (’03-’07)
Worst model RX-8 (’03-)

Once again the MX-5 (’98-’05) is the best open-top car, with a breakdown rate of 9%, while the Mazda 2 (’03-’07) finishes sixth in the supermini class. The Mazda 6 (’02-’07) is eighth in the family car class. However, owners of the sporty RX-8 won’t like the fact that it has a breakdown rate of 32% and an average repair bill of £609.

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Suzuki 3rd= out of 35
Last year’s position na
Cars needing repair work 15%
Average repair cost £255
Best model Alto (’97-’06)
Worst model SX4 (’09-)

With two models in the 10 most-reliable cars, Suzuki is this year’s surprise package. The Alto (’97-’06) and the Ignis (’00-’03) finish in the overall top 10 and the 10 best superminis, with RIs of six and 15 respectively. The Jimny (’98-) and Grand Vitara (’98-’05) also do well, but the SX4 saloon (’09-) has a failure rate of 32%.

Mitsubishi 3rd= out of 35
Last year’s position 3rd out of 32
Cars needing repair work 15%
Average repair cost £428
Best model Space Star (’98-’06)
Worst model Shogun Sport (’00-’08)

In a tie for third place, Mitsubishi has equalled last year’s strong result. The ageing Space Star (’98-’06) shows newer rivals how reliable an MPV can be, with a failure rate of just 15%.

Lexus 3rd= out of 35
Last year’s position 4th out of 32
Cars needing repair work 15%
Average repair cost £369
Best model IS (’05-)
Worst model RX (’00-’03)

Lexus is consistently one of the five most-reliable brands, and has delivered another strong result this year. Both generations of IS clean up in the compact executive class, but the newer IS (’05-) is the better of the two, with a slightly lower RI but higher repair costs. The LS (’00-’03) does well in the luxury class, and two generations of the GS perform well. The only car that comes close to embarrassing Lexus is the RX (’00-’03); its RI of 155 is well behind the rest of the range.

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Toyota 2nd out of 35
Last year’s position 5th out of 32
Cars needing repair work 14%
Average repair cost £379
Best model Corolla (’02-’07)
Worst model MR2 (’00-’07)

Toyota is no stranger to reliability awards and this year it finds itself in the silver medal position. The Corolla (’02-’07) is the most-reliable Toyota, with a failure rate of 8%, although that isn’t good enough to fend off Volvo in the small family category. The Toyota Prius (’00-’03) also makes the top 10, proving that ageing technologically advanced vehicles can also be reliable. However, the later Prius (’03-’09) doesn’t perform so well, finishing 12th overall. Despite being Toyota’s least-dependable car, the MR2 (’00-’07) still finishes as the 10th best open-top car, with an RI of 100.

Honda 1st out of 35
Last year’s position 1st out of 32
Cars needing repair work 9%
Average repair cost £310
Best model HR-V (’98-’06)
Worst model Accord (’99-’03)

This is Honda’s sixth straight year as the most-reliable manufacturer. Other makes might be cheaper or quicker to fix, but none of them can touch Honda’s low failure rate of 9%. The only Honda to win its class is the HR-V (’98-’06), with an RI of six – substantially better than those of its rivals. However, the rest of the company’s cars perform well, and even the worst model, the Accord (’99-’03), finishes in the family car top 10. None of Honda’s rivals is sitting still, but the Japanese firm’s astonishing track record proves it won’t be easy to beat.