Slideshow
2024 What Car? Reliability Survey: Britain's most and least reliable cars
In our annual Reliability Survey, we ask readers to rate the dependability of cars aged up to five years old. Here are the latest results based on the experiences of nearly 30,000 owners
Claire Evans
Updated: 2 October 2024
The most reliable cars - and the least
There are thousands more electric vehicles (EVs) on UK roads now than this time last year, but are they the most dependable cars you can buy? After all, EVs are far less complex than hybrid cars and require less maintenance than petrol or diesel-engined models, so they ought to come out on top, right?
To answer this and other related questions, the annual What Car? Reliability Survey asks thousands of motorists to tell us if their cars have let them down during the past 24 months. The latest survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, has gathered data from 29,967 car owners. As well as telling us if their cars had suffered any faults, they also told us how much each issue cost to fix and how long it kept their cars off the road.
We only focus on cars up to five years old because that covers the minimum three-year new car warranty as well as another two years where faults are less likely to be fixed for free.
We start with the 10 most reliable cars, and then go onto the 10 least reliable:
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The top 10 most reliable cars: =9. Tesla Model Y (2021-present)
Reliability rating 99.2%
Tesla has really turned round the reliability of its cars over the past few years and the Model Y is testament to this. Not only is it the highest scoring electric SUV, it’s also the best electric car overall for reliability. Only 4% of the examples we heard about went wrong, and all were fixed for free. Three-quarters of cars were fixed the same day, and the rest were back on the road in less than a week.
=9. Mini Convertible (2016-2024)
Reliability rating 99.2%
Only 7% of Mini Convertibles exhibited faults, and the sat-nav/infotainment system was the only area that gave owners any grief. All of the affected cars were put right in a day or less, and Mini covered the cost of all remedial work, ensuring that disruption was kept to a minimum for owners.
=5. Skoda Octavia petrol (2013-2020)
Reliability rating 99.3%
Petrol versions of the previous-generation Octavia gain a near-perfect reliability rating, putting it at the top of the chart for dependable family cars. This makes it a much better bet than the latest version (see below), with just 6% suffering any glitches. All issues were inconsequential, too, because they didn’t cause any breakdowns and were put right in less than a day. All work was done for free.
=5. Porsche 718 Boxster / Cayman (2016-present)
Reliability rating 99.3%
The 718 Boxster and Cayman together are the best convertible / coupe you can buy if you want a bulletproof fun car. Only 6% of Porsche’s mid-engined roadsters and its coupé siblings had any glitches, and the only area of concern was the bodywork. Getting things fixed was easy, too, with all work completed in a day or less, and Porsche covered the cost of all the work required.
=5. Lexus ES (2018-present)
Reliability rating 99.3%
The ES is the most dependable executive car, and it outclasses all its premium German rivals when it comes to dependability. Only 4% of ES owners reported issues, and only with the sat-nav/infotainment systems. Lexus covered the cost of all remedial work, and the only real inconvenience was that owners had to wait between one and seven days to get their cars back.
=5. Kia Picanto (2017-2024)
Reliability rating 99.3%
This version of the Picanto may no longer be on sale new, but it’s well worth considering as a bulletproof city car. A mere 6% of examples aged up to five years old had any issues, and only with the gearbox/clutch. Kia covered all repair costs, too, and its workshops resolved all problems in a day or less.
4. Audi Q2 (2016-present)
Reliability rating 99.5%
Almost all of the Audi Q2s in our survey behaved impeccably, according to owners. Only 3% reported any issues, all of which concerned engine faults that prevented the affected cars from being driven. Although all the faults took more than a week to put right, they were corrected at no cost to owners.
3. Mini Countryman (2017-2024)
Reliability rating 99.7%
The Countryman isn’t only the most dependable small SUV you can buy; it’s also the most reliable Mini model in the survey. Owners told us just 2% of their cars had any issues and these were restricted to niggles with the bodywork. With all these foibles sorted out at no cost and in less than a week, the Countryman has kept its owners extremely happy.
=1. Toyota Aygo X (2021-present)
Reliability rating 100%
Toyota’s tiniest and most affordable car has outdone its bigger siblings with a perfect reliability rating of 100%, making it the top scoring small car in our survey. This indicates that not one of the Aygo Xs in our survey had any glitches at all. That means not a single Aygo X owner has needed to seek assistance from dealers at all in the previous 24 months.
=1. Lexus NX (2014-2021)
Reliability rating 100%
The previous-generation Lexus NX is your best bet if you want a fault-free family SUV. Not only is it the top scorer in this class, but it also outperforms the latest NX, which scores 97.6% and lies in fifth place. No NX owners reported any issues with their cars, and that meant no time off the road for repairs and no unexpected repair bills.
So that's the most reliable cars - what about the least? Read on:
10. Seat Leon (2020-present)
Reliability rating 74.2%
A high fault rate puts the Leon in the bottom three for family cars: 58% of the cars reported on went wrong, most with sat-nav/ infotainment problems. These were slow to resolve, with 62% of cars sitting in workshops for more than a week. However, Seat covered the cost of 97% of fixes, easing some of the pain.
9. Range Rover Evoque (2011-2019)
Reliability rating 78.3%
The previous Evoque is the lowest-scoring model in the Land Rover line-up with a 35% fault rate. Issues with the engine electrics and suspension each accounted for 15% of faults. Two-thirds of cars were off the road for more than a week, and while 86% of cars were fixed for free, the rest cost more than £1500.
8. Vauxhall Corsa Electric (2019-present)
Reliability rating 72.2%
The electric Corsa is more fault-prone than its petrol sibling, with 25% of owners reporting issues, mainly with the air-con, drive battery/charging and non-motor electrics. Half took more than a week to fix. Repairs were free for 61% of owners; most of the rest didn’t pay more than £500.
7. Volkswagen Golf diesel (2020-present)
Reliability rating 70.4%
The current Golf has been plagued by issues with infotainment and other electrical systems, with diesels also suffering gearbox glitches, putting them firmly at the bottom of the family car class. Thirty percent went wrong, a third taking at least a week to fix. Only 41% were fixed for free; 11% of owners faced bills of £1000 or more. The main problem areas were the gearbox/clutch and sat-nav/infotainment system.
6. MG ZS Electric (2019-present)
Reliability rating 69.3%
Forty-three percent of the MG ZS EVs in our survey had problems, and 82% of broken cars were in the workshop for more than a week. On top of that, 10% of owners faced bills of more than £1000 to get things put right. Air-con and the 12-volt battery were the main culprits, but there were also issues with the drive battery/charging.
5. Mazda CX-60 (2022-present)
Reliability rating 68.8%
This is the least dependable model in the current Mazda line-up; 62% of owners had glitches with their cars. A third had suspension issues, a similar proportion had electrical faults and 24% had steering problems. Owners told us 43% of faulty cars took more than a week to fix. At least Mazda covered all repair costs.
4. Kia Sportage diesel (2016-2021)
Reliability rating 66.2%
Diesel Sportage models suffered a high percentage of faults and were slow to be repaired, pushing them into the bottom place for family SUVs. Owners told us 56% of their diesel Sportages went wrong, compared with only 20% of petrol models. Half of faulty cars were in the garage for more than a week, and 8% of bills exceeded £1500; 83% of cars were fixed for free.Twenty-four percent of problems were with the engine, and 20% were with the gearbox/clutch.
3. Vauxhall Mokka Electric (2020-present)
Reliability rating 65.6%
Fifty-five percent of the Mokka Electrics we heard about went wrong. Although a third of problems were sorted out in a day or less, 56% of broken cars were out of action for more than a week. Vauxhall paid for the work on 92% of cars, but 8% of owners had bills that topped £1500. No wonder it was the lowest scoring small SUV. The 12-volt battery accounted for 30% of problems and there were also lots of issues reported with the dat-nav/infotainment system and aircon.
2. MG 4 (2022-present)
Reliability rating 63.8%
With issues in almost all of our fault categories, 30% of the cars reported on went wrong. MG only paid for repairs in 55% of cases, leaving 39% of owners with bills of £1000 or more. Repairs weren’t always swift, either; 68% of affected cars took more than a week to put right.
The problem areas included non-motor electrics, interior trim, bodywork, motor, sat-nav/ infotainment, battery/charging system, gearbox/clutch and motor electrics.
1. Nissan Juke (2019-present)
Reliability rating 50.0%
The Nissan Juke is not only the lowest scoring small SUV in the survey, it’s the worst model overall. Nearly a third (31%) of the Jukes reported on went wrong, with 80% of these rendered undriveable, some for more than a week. Nissan only covered the cost of remedial work in 35% of cases; 52% of faults cost more than £1500 to fix
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