In our exhaustive annual survey, we rate the dependability of cars up to five years old, based on the experiences of owners
THERE HAS BEEN a significant shift in the new car market in the past year or two, with a massive increase in the number of hybrid and pure electric models being offered by existing brands and some newer ones. That means buyers have more choice than ever when it comes to choosing their next car, but it also poses some serious questions about quality, dependability and dealer service. Should you buy a new electric or hybrid model, or stick with the tried and tested petrol and diesel alternatives? It’s an important question that the annual What Car? Reliability Survey can help to answer.
That’s because our survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, reveals the real-life experiences of nearly 22,000 car owners (including the owners of 29 pure electric models), providing a great indication of which cars are the most dependable and which ones cause the most headaches.
For each model in the survey, we create a unique reliability rating that’s based on how much it cost owners in repair bills over the previous 24 months and how long it spent in the garage. These two factors are more important than how many faults a car suffered, because they determine how much inconvenience and expense a problem caused.
We also asked owners to pinpoint the areas in which faults occurred, picking from one of 14 different categories: 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. This year, we have data for 178 models (up to five years old) from 32 brands. Where we have a large enough sample size, we separate petrol, diesel and hybrid versions of each model to provide the most detailed analysis of reliability.
Small cars Class average 95.1%
MOST RELIABLE
1 Suzuki Swift (2017-present)
The Swift trumped all its rivals to take the accolade of most dependable small car. A mere 4% of the owners who completed our survey reported any issues with their cars, and the only area to give them any grief was the interior trim. All remedial work was completed in a day or less, demonstrating that faults were minor. Even better, all work was done for free.
What went wrong?
Interior trim 4%
Owner’s comment: “My Swift has been so reliable I’ll get a
