About The Authors

November 2023 - Automotive

Reliability survey of used cars finds Lexus leading the way: A survey by What Car? looking at reliabilty in a number of areas has found that Lexus scored the most highly, with a reliability score of 98.3%. The Japanese brand was followed by Toyota (97.4%) and Mini (97.2%). At the bottom of the table was Cupra, with a brand score of 82.4%.

Lexus' brand rating was driven by the impressive performance of the Lexus NX family SUV (2014-2021), with a score of 99.8% and the RX large SUV (2016-2022), with a commendable 98.6%.

The 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, conducted in partnership with MotorEasy, gathered feedback from 21,732 car owners and examined the reliability of cars up to five years old, covering 32 brands and 178 different models. Respondents were asked about their experiences with faults over the past 24 months, with around a fifth of owners reporting issues (21%). The research found that 83% of repairs needed were conducted at no cost, with the majority of paid-for repairs coming in at under £500. Just 2% of owners faced expenses exceeding £1500, found the research, often for issues like faulty infotainment systems, which are typically not covered by warranties.

Hybrids the most reliable cars

The study revealed that hybrids are the most reliable type of car, with just 17% of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and 18% of other hybrids surveyed reporting faults. In comparison, petrol models had a slightly lower reliability rate at 20%, while electric cars and diesels shared the highest fault rate of 26%.

Despite this, certain electric cars demonstrated exceptional reliability, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, achieving a perfect rating of 100%, and the BMW iX3, closely following with an impressive 99.3%

What Car? consumer editor Claire Evans said: “These results demonstrate that the complexity of a hybrid powertrain is not a barrier to reliability. Conversely, electric models, with their simpler set-up can let their owners down. However, in many cases it’s not the electric motors or battery banks that prove troublesome, it’s other electrical items such as infotainment systems, digital instrument panels and driver assistance systems that have given owners the biggest headaches."

 

10 most reliable brands

Brand	Reliability Rating (%)
Lexus	98.3
Toyota	97.4
Mini	97.2
Suzuki	96.9
Mitsubishi	96.2
Honda	95.9
Hyundai	94.3
Kia	93.8
Volvo	93.7
Tesla	93.6

 

10 least reliable brands

Brand	Reliability Rating (%)
Cupra	82.4
Alfa Romeo	85.6
Vauxhall	86.9
Jaguar	87.4
Land Rover	87.6
Subaru	89
Audi	89.1
MG	89.2
Mercedes- Benz	89.8
Renault	90

Other Automotive Research Findings

Other Latest Market Research Insights