Honda wins reliability plaudits

03 July 2007

Honda has practically swept the board in this year’s Which? Car reliability survey, the biggest-ever owner satisfaction survey in the UK with almost 100,000 cars* rated.

The Honda Jazz is the most reliable new car, with a reliability rating** of 96 per cent. More than 1,300 owners confirmed it rarely lets them down – cementing its reputation as the number one for dependable motoring.

Not only does Honda make the most reliable supermini, it also either wins or shares the honours in the medium car (the previous generation Honda Civic), large car (Honda Accord), MPV (Honda FR-V) and off-roader (previous generation Honda CR-V) categories.***

There is just one surprise from Honda – the latest Civic has a poor reliability rating of only 82 per cent. Owners have reported problems with the fuel system, steering and suspension.

The least reliable new car in the Which? Car survey is the Land Rover Discovery 3, not as big and tough as it thinks it is with an error-prone rating of 79 per cent. This 4x4 may well be seen on a trailer, rather than pulling one.

Other notable disappointments are the VW Passat, contrary to Volkswagen’s reputation for reliability, the Peugeot 307 and Renault Megane, all with 82 per cent.

Which? Car also includes a manufacturer league table, showing the year’s brand reliability winners and losers.**** Unsurprisingly, Honda is top of the table with an overall reliability index of 86 per cent. Toyota, just one point behind, is another extremely reliable brand.

Behind the two Japanese giants, half a dozen Far Eastern makes vie for third place: Daihatsu, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki all score 82 per cent. Land Rover is rooted firmly at the bottom of the reliability table on 68 per cent, just behind Renault and Fiat.

Richard Headland, editor, Which? Car, said:

“Congratulations to Honda, which has topped the reliability table in most mainstream categories. Honda is setting the benchmark in car reliability and it’s up to other manufacturers to raise their standards to match. Several Far Eastern car makers are hot on its heels, but European manufacturers still have some catching up to do.”

 – Ends –

Notes to Editor

How reliable is your car? For a full list, log onto www.which.co.uk/cars on Tuesday 3rd July.

*In January, 2007 the Which? Car survey was sent to 490,000 Which? members. The 93,365 responses gave information on 99,360 cars up to eight years old over the past 12 months. Information was collected on breakdowns (which left motorists unable to proceed), faults (which needed repair or replacement outside of normal servicing and wear), and niggles (which didn’t inhibit the ca’s use, but may have needed sorting by the dealer).

**The model reliability rating is for new cars up to two years old, using a reliability index which combines breakdowns, faults and niggles. Breakdowns attract a 50 per cent weighting, while faults and niggles get 25 per cent each. The average score for new cars is 88 per cent.

***Full list of most and least reliable cars:

Research Notes