The 14 most reliable cars in 2024 revealed

If you’re shopping for a new set of wheels, reliability is likely to be high up on your wishlist – nobody wants a car which will leave you stranded on the side of the road. So what are the most reliable cars you can buy?

To find out, we’ve teamed up with Warrantywise. It’s the UK’s leading provider of aftermarket warranties, and as such it has loads of data from thousands of breakdowns and car-related problems.

It analysed this data to work out which cars are the most and least reliable. It records the age and mileage of each car. It knows how much they cost to fix, and how long the repairs took.

It discounted cars that had less than 100 warranty plans to ensure a fair sample size and vans are a whole separate thing so it discounted those, although you will find a pick-up in this list somewhere. All the models in Warrantywise’s data were less than 10 years old. And none had any of their manufacturer’s warranty left.

All this information is factored into a reliability index which gives each car a score out of 100. The higher the score, the more reliable the car is.

So without further ado, here are the most reliable cars you can buy in the UK.

• Mitsubishi ASX & Honda CR-V 85.3/100
• Volkswagen Up & Kia Ceed 87.1/100
• Toyota Avensis 87.4
• Toyota Aygo & Mazda 2 88.4/100
• SEAT Mii 89/100
• Suzuki SX4 89.3/100
• Toyota Hilux & Suzuki Swift 89.6/100
• Toyota Yaris 91.5/100
• Kia Venga 93.6/100
• Suzuki Alto 95.1/100

10. Mitsubishi ASX & Honda CR-V – 85.3/100

Coming in at number 10 we have a tie between the Mitsubishi ASX and the Honda CR-V, with both of these SUVs scoring 85.3 out of 100.

The most common issues with the ASX are all suspension-based, and the average repair bill is £755. One unlucky customer did suffer an engine issue though which attracted the highest repair bill for one of these totalling £3,343 to put right. Good job they had that warranty.

The Honda CR-V also scored the same 85.3 points as the Mitsubishi for cars sold between 2014 and 2023.

They earn their top 10 place with an average repair cost of just £592, that’s less than the little Mitsubishi. If anything’s going to go wrong, the most likely area is the electrical system. Although the biggest bill Warrantywise saw for a CR-V was for a gearbox issue that cost £2819 to sort out.

This is also the most reliable seven-seater in the top ten. So it’s one to depend on if you’ve got lots of mates, or you can’t stop breeding.

9. Volkswagen Up and Kia Ceed – 87.1/100

It’s another dead heat for ninth place between the Volkswagen Up and the Kia Ceed.

The little Volkswagen made owners sweat with a common air-conditioning fault, and the average repair cost for all Up issues was £554. The biggest bill came to £1048, which was to mend a faulty fuel system. Overall though, small car, small problems.

Ceeds wracked up an average repair bill of £612 and the most common problems were with the brakes. The biggest bill was £2450 for a gearbox problem.

How come these cars share the same score when the Kia repair costs are higher than the Volkswagen? Well, it’s because the Ups tended to be newer and have fewer miles on them than the Kias when they had issues. And when you factor that into the results, both cars get the same reliability index score.

8. Toyota Avensis – 87.4/100

The eighth spot is occupied by the Toyota Avensis. Specifically, the third-generation car sold between 2015 and 2018.

Fun fact; this model has the highest average mileage of any car in the top 10 at over 93,000 miles. The Avensis was built in Derbyshire, and it’s proven to be as dependable as the Peak District itself.

This data shows that the most common fault with the Avensis was to do with the fuel system, and that the average bill was a chunky £809. But, one Avensis actually needed £1958 spending on it to fix the turbocharger.

7. Toyota Aygo & Mazda 2 – 88.4/100

On to seventh place and it’s another joint billing, this time between a pair of small cars. It’s the second generation Toyota Aygo and the third generation Mazda 2, which both scored 88.4 out of 100.

The Aygo is the smaller of the two and as such it has the smaller bills. The average repair cost is £501, and the most common issues were to do with the clutch. While the highest bill seen was £1,590 for a problem with the electrical system.

For the Mazda the most common issues were suspension related, and the average repair cost worked out at £603. The highest bill seen is quite a lot more at £3,636 to fix a fault with the fuel system.

One reason why the Mazda got the same overall score as the Toyota, despite having more expensive repairs, was that the repairs took less time to carry out on average.

6. Seat Mii – 89/100

In sixth place is another small car, the SEAT Mii, which scored 89 out of 100. It also showed the smallest average bill in the top 10 at £489. The most common issues were to do with the cooling system. The heftiest bill seen by Warrantywise on one of these was also the second smallest at £1,296 to fix a gearbox problem, undercut only by the VW Up.

The observant among you will have realised that the Seat Mii and the VW Up are the same car underneath, so how come they don’t get the same reliability score?

Well, Warrantywise’s data showed the average mileage on the Mii before it had any issues was over 68,000, compared to less than 53,000 on the Up. And there was less chance overall of the SEAT going wrong than the Volkswagen, too. Which is why it gets sixth place on this list.

5. Suzuki SX4 – 89.3/100

We’re into the top five now, and it starts with the Suzuki SX4. Specifically, the second generation model sold after 2014 onwards

This car scores 89.3 out of 100 making it the most reliable small SUV in this rundown. If a bill does arrive, statistically the most likely problem area is the cooling system, and the average cost to fix this car is £1358.

But that wasn’t the case for one SX4 driver. They had an engine problem that cost £6,483 to fix. Ouch! But that’s why you have a warranty, right?

That sounds very expensive compared to other cars on this list. So why does the SX4 get such a high reliability score? One reason is that this Suzuki tends to be older than most cars before it encounters a problem.

According to Warrantywise, the average age of these cars before they need repairs is almost 9 years. That’s as high as any car in this top 10 list.

4. Toyota Hilux and Suzuki Swift – 89.6/100

On to fourth place, and it’s another joint billing shared between two very different cars.

The only thing they’ve got in common is that they’re both Japanese. It’s the 2nd and 3rd generation Suzuki Swift and the 7th and 8th generation of Toyota Hilux made after 2014. These cars scored 89.6 out of 100.

The most common Swift problems are to do with the air-con. And the average repair bill for all issues is £588. One person out there saw a bill of £2,411 though because something had gone wrong with the engine. Presumably something quite big. Even so, this little hatchback has rightly earned its impressive fourth place.

The Hilux is the only pick-up in the top ten. It’s a bigger and more expensive machine, and the average repair bill reflects that, coming in at £1,512. The most common problems are with the suspension and in one particular case sorting a suspension issue cost £3,894.

Now if you’re wondering how the Hilux and the Swift can occupy the same slot when their stats are so different, the answer is that statistically, the Toyota needed mending fewer times than the Suzuki.

3. Toyota Yaris – 91.5/100

Moving into the top three and it starts with another Toyota, the third generation Yaris, which scored 91.5 out of 100. All thanks to an average repair bill of £587 and a reassuring allergy to garages.

If things do go wrong it’s most commonly with the electrics, although the highest bill seen was £2,366 to sort a gearbox problem. It’s a dependable little car then with fuel-sipping engines only furthering the appeal.

2. Kia Venga – 93.6/100

Now we’re up to the second most reliable car, and it’s the Kia Venga with a score of 93.6 out of 100.

The Venga doesn’t seem to go wrong very often, but if it does the most likely issue will be the electrical system.

Whatever the problem, Warrantywise found the average repair bill was £684. But one person did have an issue with the steering which wracked up a bill of £2883.

But in general it’s like the song says – the Vengabus is coming, and everybody’s enjoying good reliability from a small hatchback.

1. Suzuki Alto – 95.1/100

Finally then, the most reliable car you can buy is the Suzuki Alto, with this pint-sized hatchback scoring an impressive 95.1/100.
Warrantywise did have one case of a gearbox repair which cost £1,584, but the average repair bill was much lower, at £687.

And the really striking thing is just how little the Alto goes wrong. In fact, Warranty Wise has so little data on Suzuki Alto problems that there isn’t a ‘most common’ problem. The data just says ‘miscellaneous’.

Forget yoga enthusiasts and meditators – the least stressed people in the world must be Suzuki Alto drivers.

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