Which Car Reliability Report

[peteo48]

Interesting report in the latest Which I received yesterday on car reliability.

Top 4 makes are 1) Lexus 2) Toyota 3) Suzuki 4) Honda.

Honda's reliability is described as near perfect.

The other area they looked out was reliability via fuel type. Not good news for EVs.

1) Petrol-Hybrid 2) Petrol 3) Diesel 4) Electric (BEV) 5) Plug in Hybrid

On BEVs the early versions of the Nissan Leaf come out well, the Renault Zoe much less so and Tesla's Model 3 is a bit of a reliability disaster.

[John Ratsey]

With Lexus being part of Toyota and Toyota having a stake in Suzuki then it's effectively 1 = Toyota group, 2 = Honda. However, being part of a group doesn't necessarily confer consistent reliability. For VW group in the same table Skoda is at 12, VW at 20, Seat at 21 and Audi at 26 while Mini is at 5 but BMW at 19. Nissan is at 25, behind Renault at 23.

Regarding drivetrain types it's useful to read the supporting comments. Hybrids rank highly because almost all are Toyota. The hybrid Mk 2 Jazz didn't get a mention although previous surveys have put that vehicle at the top of the reliability table for individual vehicles (but actual numbers sold here are relatively few). The BEV ranking is dragged down by Tesla which is only one slot above Land Rover in the manufacturer table. However, it's Tesla's questionable build quality which is the problem with no mention of drivetrain issues so BEVs from manufacturer with good attention to quality might well eat into Tesla's sales. History might well record Tesla as kick-starting the trend towards BEVs with good range but may not be the ultimate beneficiary.

[peteo48]

Think you might be right about Tesla John. I have seen others make the same point - the traditional manufacturers will dominate EV production.

Which did make the point that Lexus and Toyota are "sensationally" reliable brands anyway and that must be a factor in the petrol-hybrid supremacy in reliability stakes. There is also mention of the fact that they do not have starter motors or clutches.

Only 14% of people polled said that their next vehicle would be a BEV. That's a substantial number compared to the number of EVs currently in operation but indicates that we might be a few years away from the tipping point. Petrol Hybrids the most popular choice for next new vehicle.

[peteo48]

Another little nugget - the average Which subscriber pays over £31,000 for a new car!

[Jocko]

If you can afford a subscription to Which you can afford £31,000 for a new car.

[Basil]

I see John has named quite a few but would anyone care to put the full list on here ?

[peteo48]

Tried to copy and paste but the Which website (I am a member) wouldn't let me do it.

[John Ratsey]

Here's the full list which is just about legible.

[Basil]

Thanks a lot John.

[TnTkr]

With Lexus being part of Toyota and Toyota having a stake in Suzuki then it's effectively 1 = Toyota group, 2 = Honda.

I see you point, but Toyota owning less than 5 % of Suzuki shares and being 3rd biggest shareholder I would not count Suzuki as part of Toyota group. Suzuki has had changes in automotive partners during last decades, but it has all the time been product-wise an independent manufacturer.

[culzean]

I am seeing a hell of a lot of Suzuki cars on the roads by us in last few years especially Swifts and Vitara, My brother has a 2018 Grand Vitara AWD with the 1.4 Boosterjet engine and having driven it I was gobsmacked.  The performance is great and MPG also very good,  it has ample torque ( almost a flat line ) from just over tickover to over 4500 revs - I would have one in a heartbeat.  It feels as fast as my Civic 1.8 but with better MPG and AWD...  Suzuki are well towards top of reliability league tables as well.

[Basil]

My local Honda dealer is also a Suzuki dealer and I like the look of the Vitara, the 1.0 Boosterjet also supposed to be a good engine and more economical than the 1.4.

On the negative side I have read about Vitara tracking issues with axles being replaced on almost new vehicles and I wonder how reliable the turbo engines will be in the long term ?

[madasafish]

My local Honda dealer is also a Suzuki dealer and I like the look of the Vitara, the 1.0 Boosterjet also supposed to be a good engine and more economical than the 1.4.

On the negative side I have read about Vitara tracking issues with axles being replaced on almost new vehicles and I wonder how reliable the turbo engines will be in the long term ?

Third owner who skips oil changes will no doubt kill them