Honda tops reliability ranking for ninth consecutive year

Japanese manufacturers, led by Honda, have topped the rankings for reliability once again

by Ed Gent

Japanese cars have topped an annual reliability ranking yet again, with luxury brands Bentley, Porsche and Land Rover bringing up the rear.

The 2105 reliability survey compiled by What Car? and Warranty Direct analysed thousands of cars in Britain from 38 brands that were three to eight years old, assessing reliability based on a car's failure rate, age, mileage and cost of repair.

Honda topped the rankings for the ninth year in a row, with Suzuki second, Toyota third and Chevrolet and Mazda sharing fourth place. Bentley was ranked as the least reliable brand, with 93 per cent of its cars on Warranty Direct’s books suffering a problem each year, followed by Porsche, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo and Jeep.

What Car? editor Jim Holder said: "Honda’s success in the reliability index is chiefly down to low failure rates. But, when things do go wrong, the cars are also relatively cheap to fix.

“Reliability is always one of the key attributes buyers look for when considering a used car purchase, so manufacturers that consistently demonstrate durability will always do well with the consumer."

Overall, the most reliable models were the Honda Jazz and the Mitsubishi Lancer, both of which also had reasonable average repair costs. The least reliable model was the Audi RS6 which had one of the highest average repair bills at £1,003. While Subaru made the top ten in the table, its Impreza was the most costly model to fix with an average bill of £1635.70.

Electrical faults were the most common problem across all cars, accounting for almost a quarter of visits to garages. Axle and suspension faults were also common, affecting 22 per cent of cars. Air conditioning was the cause of least concern to motorists, being reported by just 3 per cent of owners.

Warranty Direct managing director David Gerrans said: "Household budgets continue to be stretched further in the current economic climate; the last thing people need is a car that costs them money they don’t have in unwanted bills. It is imperative that consumers research their intended purchases thoroughly before taking the plunge.

“Not taking the time to look over something as easy to use as our reliability index could mean making the wrong choice and inadvertently landing yourself with a car that causes you nothing but hassle and a financial headache."

The most reliable brands were:
1. Honda
2. Suzuki
3. Toyota
4= Chevrolet
4= Mazda
6. Ford
7. Lexus
8. Skoda
9= Hyundai
9= Nissan
9= Subaru

Source;
http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2015/apr/honda-reliable.cfm