Most reliable cars are... the cheapest?

Paying loads of cash for fancy, expensive cars offer performance, luxury and thrills, but it doesn’t guarantee reliability. Sometimes, the best cars are the worst.

According to a UK survey by What Car? and insurance company Warranty Direct, two luxury models have ranked the bottom of the 'most reliable' list.

South Africa’s controversial luxury brand Porsche, which has won the local Car of the Year competition three times in a row, and Bentley, are more likely to break down and leave you stranded in the UK than most cheaper cars.

The London Daily Mail claims thousands of cars between the age of three and eight years were evaluated by Warranty Direct based on failure rate, age, distance covered and cost of repairs.

While those two brands were the bottom-dwellers of the list, Honda, Suzuki and Toyota ranked best.

MOST RELIABLE MANUFACTURERS

1 Honda
2 Suzuki
3 Toyota
4 Chevrolet
4 Mazda
6 Ford
7 Lexus
8 Skoda
9 Hyundai
9 Nissan
9 Subaru
Source: What Car? and Warranty Direct

In another report by Warranty Direct in March 2015, Audi took the title of being the most unreliable car with the RS6 rated worst with almost 35% failing due to axle and suspension problems.

Next was BMW’s M5 with nearly 30% electrical problems, along with Porsche's 911 with 26% and the Bentley Continental GT with 31% for the same type of fault.

The Mercedes-Benz CL was the fifth most unreliable car in the UK with 32% of problems accounting from axle and suspension issues.

The Daily Mail quoted What Car? editor Jim Holder as saying: '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."

Read the full Daily Mail article here.