What Car? Reliability Survey 2012 - Results by brand: 9th to 15th

Chevrolet 9th
Last year's position na
Cars needing repair work 22%
Average repair cost £227
Best model Tacuma ('05-'09)
Worst model Lacetti ('05-)

Chevrolet didn't feature last year, but joins this year in a strong ninth place with the lowest average repair cost in the survey, at £227.

The fail rate is a worthy 22%. The Tacuma ('05-'09) claims top spot for both Chevrolet and MPVs overall, with a failure rate of 5%.

Nissan 10th
Last year's position 10/35
Cars needing repair work 25%
Average repair cost £379
Best model Qashqai ('07-)
Worst model Pathfinder ('05-)

A British-built car topped Nissan's line-up last year and it's a different British-built model at the top in 2012 – the Qashqai ('07-) with an average repair cost of £246 and a fail rate of just 16%.

The Pathfinder ('05-), Nissan's worst model, has average repair costs of £624.

Kia 11th
Last year's position 9/35
Cars needing repair work 26%
Average repair cost £359
Best model Picanto ('04-'11)
Worst model Pathfinder ('00-'06)

Kia sits in a respectable 11th place. The Rio ('01-'05) gets sixth place in superminis, while the Picanto ('04-) takes third in city cars and best Kia overall, with a failure rate of just 9%.

Ford 12th=
Last year's position 14/35
Cars needing repair work 31%
Average repair cost £275
Best model Ka ('08-)
Worst model Galaxy ('95-'06)

The Ka ('08-) is Ford's runaway winner. Its RI score of 27 and 20% failure rate put it ninth in the top 10 city cars.

The Galaxy ('95-'06) is still Ford's most unreliable car, going wrong more than half the time and proving expensive to fix (£343 on average).

Skoda 12th=
Last year's position 12/35
Cars needing repair work 31%
Average repair cost £310
Best model Fabia ('07-)
Worst model Superb ('02-'08)

Skoda keeps 12th place. Its Fabia ('07-) replaces the Octavia ('98-'04) at the top with a tiny RI of 15, a failure rate of the same percentage and average repair costs of around £100.

The Superb ('02-'08) remains its worst model.

Citroen 14th
Last year's position 15/35
Cars needing repair work 32%
Average repair cost £297
Best model Xsara Picasso ('00-'10)
Worst model C8 ('02-'10)

The Xsara Picasso ('00-'10) takes Citroen's top spot. Its 26% failure rate and brilliant 56 RI score make it a genuinely practical and reliable car to live with.

The C8 ('02-), however, gets a disappointing 264 for its RI score, and high repair costs.

Peugeot 15th=
Last year's position 19/35
Cars needing repair work 35%
Average repair cost £278
Best model 206 CC ('00-'07)
Worst model 807 ('02-'11)

A good jump up the table puts Peugeot 15th. Its best model, the 206 CC ('00-'07) has a failure rate of just 21%.

Easily Peugeot's worst performer is the 807 ('02-) with a 49% fail rate and an average repair cost approaching £500.

Daewoo 15th=
Last year's position 11/35
Cars needing repair work 35%
Average repair cost £291
Best model Matiz ('98-'05)
Worst model Kalos ('02-'05)

The Daewoo Matiz is a strong finisher once again this year; its failure rate of 56% and average repair cost of £253 put it seventh in the city car category.

It isn't such good news for other Daewoos, especially the Kalos ('02-'05); with a premium-sized average repair bill of £411 it's the most unreliable city car this year.

Smart 15th=
Last year's position 13/35
Cars needing repair work 35%
Average repair cost £293
Best model Fortwo ('07-)
Worst model Roadster ('03-'06)

Whereas the original Fortwo ('00-'03) stood out as the worst model last year, this year the next-generation Fortwo ('07-) takes the marque's top spot.

The problems with the newer model are generally either electrics or cooling system-related, and the average repair costs are low at £217, but a poor RI score of 155 for the Roadster ('03-'06) this year, together with its 48% failure rate, drags Smart back down the board.

Results by brand - 18th to 24th >>

See also: JD Power Dealer Satisfaction Survey >>