The most and least reliable cars revealed

When buying a new car, it can be easy to have your decision swayed by the way it looks, its interior and what features it has.

But you should never neglect another vital factor – reliability. A recent survey from What Car? has shown a significant difference in the best and worst cars for dependability, with 21,732 car owners giving their opinions.

So what are the most and least reliable cars? Here are the best and worst by class of car, based on What Car?’s survey.

Small cars

The reliability of smaller cars tends to be better because there are generally fewer things to go wrong. But there’s a noticeable difference between the best and worst performers.

Up at the top, the current Suzuki Swift scored an overall 99.5 per cent reliability score, with just four per cent of owners reporting problems, which was only to the interior trim. At the other end of the spectrum, the Audi A1, arguably the most premium of small cars, was seen to be the least reliable with an 87.3 per cent reliability score, and some 25 per cent of owners reporting their going wrong.

Family cars

Family cars are required to be dependable at all times, and in that respect, the last-generation BMW 1 Series (sold between 2011 and 2019) was named as the most reliable, earning a 100 per cent score. No owners in the survey had anything go wrong with their cars. A special mention also goes to the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, which scored 99.2 per cent.

At the opposite end, the latest Audi A3, a core rival for the 1 Series, was the least reliable, scoring a disappointing 71.8 per cent rating. A huge 59 per cent of A3 owners reported things going wrong, with 44 per cent relating to the infotainment. Most repairs were carried out for free, though.

Small SUVs

Small SUVs are among some of the most popular new cars on the roads, and if you’re shopping for reliability, you should head to your local Suzuki dealer and look at the brand’s funky Ignis, which was awarded a 99.4 per cent rating.

Citroen’s C3 Aircross was the least reliable, with a score of 84.3 per cent. Repairs could often be expensive, owners reported in the survey.

Family SUVs

If you want a reliable family SUV, it’s a Lexus you should look at, as three of the firm’s models made up the entire podium in this class – the first-generation Lexus NX receiving a 99.8 per cent rating, followed by the current NX (99.4 per cent) and smaller UX (99.3 per cent).

At the other end of the spectrum, slightly disappointingly is the Skoda Karoq, a very popular model with families, which was awarded an 80.8 per cent rating.

Electric cars

Electric cars are often considered to be more reliable than their petrol counterparts, but What Car’s survey results show this isn’t always the case. At the top, however, was the Mini Electric, which had a 97.6 per cent reliability rating. The few owners that did report issues with their cars all had the faults repaired for free too.

However, the Porsche Taycan disappointed, with its 66.5 per cent reliability rating being well behind what you’d expect. Infotainment and air conditioning issues were noted the most problematic.

Electric SUVs

SUVs are very very popular as electric cars, but the survey shows a massive disparity between the best and worst. At the top was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which was awarded the top 100 per cent rating as no owners reported any issues.

At the opposite end of the scale, was the Vauxhall Mokka-e, which was awarded a rating of just 60.6 per cent – the worst score of any car in the survey. Key problems included the battery and infotainment.

Executive cars

Executive cars can be a bit more problematic, but that’s not the case for the Lexus IS (sold between 2013 and 2020), with a 98 per cent reliability rating. In fact, Lexus was named as the most reliable brand overall.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the current Audi A6 scored a disappointing 76.6 per cent, owing to many electrical faults plaguing ownership.

Seven-seaters

Seven-seaters aren’t always known for their reliability, but the current Volvo XC90 was the model that impressed the most in this area, with a 94.8 per cent reliability rating.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was the Seat Tarraco – a very popular model with larger families – which had an 85.3 per cent reliability rating.