What Car? Reliability Survey - Renault to Rover

Renault
• League position: 25th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 38.4
• Average age (years): 4.55
• Average mileage: 45,138
• Average repair cost: £281
• Average time for repair (hours): 2.7

Renault has dropped five places this year to find itself just five places from the bottom of the table.

The number of claims made for every 100 cars has increased slightly from 38 last year to 38.4 this year.

While this rise in claims is bad news, there is a small chink of light at the end of the tunnel for Renault owners – both the average repair cost and the average repair time have fallen compared with last year’s results.

The average repair bill is £6 less than a year ago at £281 and mechanics spend an average of 2.7 hours to fix problems now, compared with 3 hours in 2004.

As far as individual models go, Renault does not cover itself in glory. In the highest position is the Clio (1998-) in 40th place, while the Espace (1997-2002) is right at the bottom for the second year running.

Verdict: ** A poor performance from Renault. The company has a long way to go to match the best from Europe.

Rover
• League position: 27th
• Claims per 100 vehicles: 40.3
• Average age (years): 4.27
• Average mileage: 39,953
• Average repair cost: £281
• Average time for repair (hours): 2.9

Rover has experienced a dramatic drop down the league table from a respectable 16th place last year to fourth from bottom in this year’s survey.

Rover’s claims per 100 vehicles have risen by more than seven to a high 40.3. The majority of claims are as a result of electrical problems, with axles and suspension systems and transmission boxes being the next most troublesome components.

Rover’s poor showing can be blamed on a handful of its older models, worst of all is the 800 (built from 1991) at 89th in the overall table.

Surprisingly, the 25 (1999-) sits in third place overall and the 45 is 19th.

Verdict: * Newer models look respectable but older cars let Rover down considerably.

Click here to see how the manufacturers compare.

Click here for top 10 most reliable models.

Click here for top 10 least reliable models.