What Car? Reliability Survey: Most and least reliable electric cars

With many new models and brands entering the electric car class, this is one of the most exciting sectors of the new car market.

This year we have data on 34 electric models. They are reported on in two separate reliability charts: one for electric SUVs and this one which contains all other pure electric models.

When it comes to reliability, electric cars are mid-league; those in this chart scored 90.7% last year and 87.7% this year. Electric SUVs are a bit more robust, with a rating of 89.3% this year.

How the research was carried out

The annual What Car? Reliability Survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, polls thousands of car owners about the reliability of their cars. The latest survey gained 29,967 responses and that enabled us to report on 199 models (up to five years old) from 31 different car brands.

All car owners are asked to tell us if their car suffered any faults over the previous 24 months. For every car that has suffered a fault, we ask in what area the issue occurred, plus how much it cost to repair and how long it spent in the workshop. This information is used to create a reliability rating for each model and brand where we have a large enough response rate.

To gain a better insight into the areas that are causing problems, we also ask owners to let us know what part of the car was faulty. For all cars we have 14 different fault areas: air-con, battery, bodywork, brakes, engine or motor, engine or motor electrics, exhaust, fuel system, gearbox/clutch, interior trim, non-engine or motor electrics, sat-nav/infotainment, steering and suspension systems. On top of this, we've added two new categories for electric cars: charging and drive battery issues, and difficulties with electric motors.

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Reliability rating 89.3%

A third of the Polestar 2 models in our survey had a glitch, with issues reported in a number of areas including the electric battery pack, brakes, interior trim and non-motor electrical systems including the sat-nav / infotainment system. Although the car maker covered the cost of all remedial work, repairs were sometimes slow: only a third of cars were fixed in a day or less, 44% were in the workshop for up to a week and 20% were off the road for more than a week.

Reliability rating 89.5%

Tesla has made big improvements in reliability in the past few years, jumping from the lower echelons of our brand chart to 15th place out of 31 brands in the latest survey. The Model 3 isn't perfect, but it is now a pretty dependable option.

Owners told us that 27% of their cars went wrong, mostly with bodywork, electrical system and suspension issues. Most cars could still be driven, and 51% were fixed in a day or less, but 30% spent more than a week off the road. While Tesla covered the cost of 86% of work, a small percentage of owners paid out more than £1500 to get their cars fixed.

Reliability rating 92.0%

Like the Cupra Born, it's slow repair that pull down the score of the MG 5: 50% of faulty cars were in the garage for more than a week. Overall, 21% of cars had problems, with the EV battery pack the biggest headache. While MG paid for the repairs on 83% of cars, the remaining owners were left with bills ranging from £301 to £500.

Reliability rating 92.5%

Just over a quarter (26%) of the Cupra Borns in our survey had an issue, and the majority of them were with the sat-nav / infotainment and other non-motor electrical systems. It's reassuring that Cupra covered the cost of all repair work, but less comforting to hear that 54% of affected cars were out of action for more than a week.

Reliability rating 94.5%

Like the e-Up, the BMW i3 is one of the oldest EVs in our survey, yet it's up there with the best newcomers. A mere 9% of owners reported a fault with their car, affecting the air-con, non-motor electrics and suspension. Three quarters of cars were fixed in less than a week, and the rest took more than a week. Some owners had to have deep pockets, though, because BMW only paid for 25% of remedial work, leaving some owners having to find between £200 and £1500 to get their cars put right.

Reliability rating 94.6%

Slow repairs were the main bugbear of the 13% of Volkswagen e-Up owners whose cars went wrong. Two-thirds of faulty cars were in the workshop for more than a week. At least the car maker paid for all the remedial work, taking the financial sting out of the problems. Troublespots included the air-con, 12-volt battery and non-motor electrics.

Reliability rating 95.5%

Onky 14% of Renault Megane E-Tech owners had any problems with their cars, and those issues concerned the electrics, interior trim, sat-nav / infotainment system and the suspension. The problems didn't leave any cars undriveable, and all faults were rectified in less than a week; 25% of cars were put right in a day or less. Best of all, Renault covered the cost of all repairs.

Reliability rating 95.5%

Although the i4 had its share of faults (27% of owners said their cars had gone wrong), this was offset by the fact that
all repairs were done for free and 56% of affected cars were fixed in a day or less. Most of the issues were minor, relating to interior trim; there were also a few air-con and drive battery/charging faults.

Reliability rating 95.6%

Only 11% of the Leafs in our survey had a glitch – either with the brakes, interior trim or non-motor electrics. Those faults didn’t cause any breakdowns, and 60% of the affected cars were put right in a day or less. However, while Nissan paid for 60% of repairs, the remaining 40% of owners had to pay between £301 and £1000.

Reliability rating 98.4%

What went wrong? Motor electrics 3%, 12-volt battery 2%

The Mini Electric may not have the longest range, but it’s the most reliable electric car and far more dependable than its Peugeot and Vauxhall rivals. Only 5% of the cars reported on had niggles with their 12-volt batteries or motor electrics. While it took up to a week to rectify these faults, all cars remained driveable and all were fixed at no cost.

Owner’s view: “Faultlessly reliable and I love the quality feel of its interior.”

Reliability rating 76.2%

More than half (58%) of the Taycans in our survey went wrong, with a range of issues including air-con, drive battery/charging, bodywork and various electrical issues. Getting cars fixed was slow, too; 56% were off the road for more than seven days, but at least Porsche covered the cost of 97% of repair work.

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.

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.

What went wrong? Non-motor electrics 15%, interior trim 9%, bodywork 7%, motor 7%, sat-nav/ infotainment 7%, battery/charging system 4%, gearbox/clutch 4%, motor electrics 4%, air-con 2%, brakes 2%, steering 2%, suspension 2%

Owner's view: "The charging socket on my brand new MG 4 broke after just 10 weeks of ownership."