Are you looking for a trustworthy automobile that won’t let you down? Whether you’re looking for a new or used model, the results of our one-of-a-kind survey show which cars in the UK are the most reliable.
Most Reliable Cars
If you park your car in the garage more often than you drive it, comfort, fuel economy, and performance are irrelevant considerations. Our one-of-a-kind study has uncovered which automobiles in the UK are the most dependable. In order to determine which vehicles are the most dependable on the market, we ask thousands of car owners about their vehicles, including the problems they’ve experienced and whether or not their vehicles have ever broken down. We are able to determine how reliable a particular model of car is in its first four years after it has been manufactured, between the ages of 5 and 9 years, and between 10 and 15 years by using the data that we have collected. No matter how well it did in our tests, if we find one that is too unreliable, it will not qualify as a Best Buy no matter how good its performance was. For instance, the car that was rated as having the lowest level of dependability was said to have been taken out of service for an alarmingly high average of 18 days during the year that our survey covered. As a Which? member, you have exclusive access to the tool below, which ranks the most reliable car brands, and it can assist you in selecting a new or used vehicle that will not disappoint you. Continue reading to find out the findings of our survey.
The most dependable automobiles have been identified.
In order to provide you with comprehensive reliability ratings for a large number of vehicles, we questioned more than 48 thousand car owners. Make use of this research to ensure that you do not waste your money on an option that will not meet your expectations.
Reliability of automobiles
More than 48,000 drivers participated in our survey, and we asked them about their cars and their driving experiences, including any difficulties they encountered and whether or not their vehicles broke down. A brief summary of our findings is as follows: Thank you to everyone who took part in our survey; the total number of drivers who responded was 48,034 and they reported on 56,853 cars. Only ten vehicles, including one of the most popular models available in the UK, were able to earn a perfect score of five stars in both the 0-4 and 5-9 year age categories. 19% of owners of the best-selling car in the UK reported issues with their vehicle’s battery.
Which new cars are the most and least reliable
Most dependable brand-new automobile
Honda Jazz (2020-present)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
It doesn’t get much better than this: an incredible one hundred percent of owners reported that there were no problems of any kind in the year that our most recent survey covered, and there were also no breakdowns at any time. There is no better option than the Honda Jazz if dependability is one of your top priorities.
Most unreliable brand-new automobile
Alpine A110 (2019 – present) ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
In the year that our survey of product reliability covered, an alarmingly high 55% of Apline A110 owners experienced at least one issue that required the assistance of a trained technician to resolve. In addition to that, owners reported that their vehicles were inoperable for a total of an average of 18 days during the year that our survey covered, and that 52% of them had experienced a vehicle breakdown.
Used cars that are the most and least reliable
The least problematic pre-owned vehicle
Mazda MX-5 (2015-present) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
In the year leading up to our survey, only 11% of owners reported having a problem with their vehicle, and the majority of those problems were considered to be relatively minor. Only 2% of the vehicles had mechanical problems.
the least dependable used automobile
Tesla Model S (2013-present) ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
58% of people who owned this car had to take it in to get at least one problem fixed in the year leading up to our survey. There were a wide variety of problems, and thirteen percent of the vehicles actually broke down.
What does it mean to be reliable?
In order to provide some context for our reliability ratings, the table that follows presents the average number of faults experienced by age group and star rating.
Age group
Rating of dependability Fault rate
0-4 years
Five stars 11%
Three stars constitute one-fourth of the total.
One star 40%
5-9 years
Five stars 18%
The proportion of ratings with three stars is 31%.
One star 46%
10-15 years
Five stars 25%
Three stars constitute 42% of the total rating.
One star 57%
Which automaker is known for producing the most dependable vehicles?
If you haven’t chosen a model yet but want to limit your options, one way to do so is to determine which automaker goes to the greatest lengths to ensure that its vehicles are reliable and do not experience mechanical failures or defects.
In order to determine which automaker produces vehicles of the highest quality, we analysed the vehicles produced by thirty-six different companies. Check out our list of the most reliable car brands to learn more about the manufacturers that come highly recommended by us.
