2017 What Car? Reliability Survey
In our 2017 Reliability Survey, we asked more than 14,200 people to tell us about any faults their cars have suffered during the past year. These are the results for luxury cars aged 0-3yrs...
Luxury cars
Just 9% of Mercedes-Benz S-Class saloons had a problem, with engine electrics the only area of concern. The cars remained driveable and all were fixed for free in less than a week.
Audi’s A6 wasn’t far behind, with 10% of owners reporting faults that spanned bodywork, interior trim, non-engine electrics and the exhaust. All cars were repaired for free and put back on the road in less than a week.
Owners of the previous Mercedes E-Class reported faults on 26% of cars, with electrical problems the most common complaint, followed by interior trim, gearbox and suspension. That said, all repair work was done under warranty and most cars remained driveable and were back on the road in less than a week.
The newer version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class didn’t perform as well as the older one, with 24% of cars suffering a problem. Interior trim and electrical issues (engine and non-engine) were the most commonly afflicted areas. Although all cars were fixed under warranty, a small percentage spent more than a week in the garage.
Meanwhile, 34% of BMW 5 Series diesels had problems across a range of areas, from the engine and gearbox/clutch to the bodywork and interior trim. Owners also reported air-con and infotainment issues, and a small number told us about blistered alloy wheels.
Jaguar’s XF didn’t put in a terrible performance, with only 20% of cars suffering a fault. However, half the cars were not driveable and a third took more than a week to fix.
Reliability for luxury cars aged 0-3yrs
| Rank | Make and model | Score |
|---------------|--------------------|---------------------------|| 1 | Mercedes-Benz S-Class saloon (2013-present) | 93.2% || 2 | Audi A6 saloon/Avant 2011-present | 92.1% || 3 | Mercedes-Benz E-Class saloon/estate (2009-2016) | 75.3% || 4 | Volvo V70 (2007-2013) | 75.1% || 5 | Jaguar XF saloon/Sportbrake (2008-2015) | 72.3% || 6 | Jaguar XF saloon (2015-present) | 66.8% || 7 | BMW 5 Series saloon/Touring (2010-2017) | 62.2% || 8 | Mercedes-Benz E-Class saloon (2016-present) | 46.1% |
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