The Most Reliable Car Brands in the UK

by Alex Robbins

There are few organisations better placed to tell you exactly how reliable a car will be than a warranty company. So when a warranty company tells you exactly how reliable the cars it has covered have been, it’s probably a good idea for motorists to sit up and take notice.

That’s why the release of car reliability data from Warranty Wise is important for prospective car buyers. This year, its Reliability Index features data from more than 131,000 warranty plans active between 2021 and 2022, taking in everything from the smallest hatchbacks to the largest SUVs. Each car is ranked not just on how often it went wrong, but also on how much it cost to put right – and then given a score out of 100.

As you might expect given their excellent reputation for reliability, Japanese and Korean brands occupied the top five places in the final tally, with Honda topping the table. But more of a surprise was that there were also decent showings for some brands that traditionally don’t have quite such a glowing record.

“By collecting and collating all this data into an index like this one, we’re able to help our customers with their purchases by arming them with information to try and help lessen the burden as much as they can,” says Warranty Wise CEO Lawrence Whittaker. “Consumers are keeping their vehicles for longer, and we are able to provide them with a warranty to help them avoid large lump sums when things go wrong.”

Here then, without further ado, are the most reliable brands in full according to the latest Warranty Wise Reliability Index.

The Most Reliable Car Brands in the UK

ford-puma

9= Ford

Ford's used cars tend not to be as dependable as some Japanese manufacturers’, but what makes them worth considering is that they are often relatively affordable to fix when they do go wrong – and that likely accounts for their solid joint ninth-place showing here, with a very respectable reliability score of 73.1.
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2017-2020 Mazda CX-5 Generational Review summaryImage

9= Mazda

We’re always impressed by the way Mazda tends to pay attention to making its cars feel fun and exciting to drive – particularly its cracking little MX-5 sports car. But a score of 73.1 in this study proves you don’t have to sacrifice reliability in order to put a smile on your face.
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Renault Arkana side

8 Renault

Renault’s one of the manufacturers you might not traditionally expect to do brilliantly in a reliability survey, so the fact it’s up in 8th place with a good reliability rating of 73.2 is to the French manufacturer’s credit. Indeed, its new-found attention to dependability is also borne out in the excellent five-year, 100,000-mile warranty it now offers on all its new cars.
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Citroen C5 X side static

7 Citroen

Improving reliability has been a big priority over at one of Renault arch-rivals, too. And a highly creditable score of 74.3 in this study proves that Citroen’s efforts are paying off; not only are its new models now staying the course more and more, but they’re also affordable to fix when they do go wrong. Also worth noting is that Citroen managed to place higher here than its parent company, Peugeot — which wasn’t even in the top 10.
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fiat 500 laprima

6 Fiat

Probably the biggest surprise of the whole survey, though, is to see Fiat – a manufacturer that often languishes at the bottom of these tables – up so near the top with an impressive score of 79.9. That’s a monumental showing for the Italian brand, and indicates an impressive pulling-up of socks in recent years.
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2021 Hyundai Tucson

5 Hyundai

We’re into the top five now, and it’s less of a shock to find Hyundai here with a score of 80.5; the South Korean manufacturer is a regular feature at the top end of these reliability tables, consistently putting out cars that aren’t just smartly styled and good to drive, but are dependable too – and backed up by a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty.
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Kia Sportage 2022 rear driving

4 Kia

An even better result over at Hyundai’s South Korean sister brand Kia. The two are part of the same global conglomerate, but Kia’s managed to pull out a lead over its compatriot with a brilliant score of 86.2. No wonder Kia feels able to offer a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty on all its new models.
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2018-2020 Suzuki Swift Generational Review reliabilityImage

3 Suzuki

Japanese manufacturer Suzuki isn’t a big player in the British car market, but its owners certainly seem to love their cars – and what with this result, it isn’t hard to see why. A terrific score of 88.7 in this survey shows Suzukis are built to last, and on the rare occasions they do go wrong, they don’t cost the earth to get back on the road again.
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2019-2020 Toyota Corolla Generational Review summaryImage

2 Toyota

Possibly the least surprising result of all is to find Toyota, maker of the endlessly dependable Corolla, up at the top end of this scale, though that doesn’t make it any less commendable. Along with its luxury arm Lexus, the company is renowned for the reliability of its cars, and that’s justified once again here with a deeply impressive score of 91.2 per cent. Hybrid cars are commonplace in Toyota’s range, too, which makes them fuel efficient as well as long-lasting.
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Honda HRV front driving

1 Honda

Top honours, then, go to Honda, maker of the most reliable vehicles in the survey with a knockout score of 96.8. That’s an astonishing achievement when you consider just how few cars have to go wrong before you fail to achieve it, and suggests the Japanese manufacturer should be your go-to for hassle-free motoring. What’s more, Honda can also lay claim to the best car overall in this survey, in the form of its clever little Jazz. Search for a Honda on CarGurus

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Alex used to be the used cars editor for What Car? and Autocar as well as the Daily Telegraph's consumer motoring editor. He covers all manner of new car news and road tests, but specialises in writing about used cars and modern classics. He's owned more than 40 cars, and can usually be found browsing the CarGurus classifieds, planning his next purchase.

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