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Revealed: The top 50 most reliable used cars according to What Car? and heycar

Time 2:38 pm, October 19, 2020

The 50 most reliable used cars in Britain have been revealed with the Toyota Rav4 heading the league table.

It was joined by Japanese stablemates the Honda Jazz and Lexus RX in having a perfect reliability rating of 100 per cent.

The listings from What Car? and heycar saw brands from Japan and South Korea dominate the top 10, taking seven of the places.


Meanwhile, the top 50 features nine hybrids and the fully electric Jaguar I-Pace, which What Car? and heycar say proves that it’s possible to buy an environmentally friendly and dependable used car.

The first non-Japanese car on the list was the Dacia Duster, which has been built since 2018 and scored 99 per cent.

The ratings were based on data from nearly 13,000 owners who took part in the annual What Car? Reliability Survey.


People asked if their vehicle had had a fault in the past 12 months, what was affected, how much it cost to repair and how long the vehicle was off the road for.

Cars up to eight years old were the only ones considered, as they account for more than half of all used car purchases.

Across all models in the top 50, just over a fifth of owners (21 per cent) reported a fault, with non-engine electrical gremlins being the most common problem.

That was followed by the engine and its electrical systems then the bodywork.

Sixty-eight per cent of the cases saw warranties cover the cost of repairs, with more than a third (36 per cent) of all the cars repaired and driveable in a day or less.

What Car? used cars editor Mark Pearson said: ‘Reliability is one of the key concerns for most used buyers, because an unreliable car can quickly turn into an unwelcome headache.

‘Our top 50 list, combined with our online used car marketplace, takes the hassle out of finding a dependable secondhand car.’

Britain’s top 50 most reliable used cars according to What Car? and heycar

=1. Toyota Rav4 (2013-2019) 100 per cent


=1. Lexus RX Hybrid (2016-present) 100 per cent

=1. Honda Jazz (2008-2015) 100 per cent

4. Toyota Yaris Hybrid (2011-2020) 99.6 per cent

5. Lexus NX Hybrid (2014-present) 99.3 per cent

6. Dacia Duster (2018-present) 99 per cent

=7. Skoda Citigo (2012-present) 98.9 per cent

=7. Alfa Romeo Giulietta (2010-present) 98.9 per cent

9. Hyundai i10 (2014-2020) 98.8 per cent

10. Hyundai i20 (2015-present) 98.6 per cent

=11. Mini Countryman (2017-present) 98.4 per cent

=11. Lexus IS Hybrid (2013-present) 98.4 per cent

13. Lexus CT (2011-present) 98.3 per cent

14. Toyota Corolla Hybrid (2018-present) 98.2 per cent

15. BMW X1 petrol (2015-present) 98.1 per cent

=16. Volkswagen Up (2012-present) 98 per cent

=16. Skoda Superb petrol (2016-present) 98 per cent

=16. Mercedes-Benz GLA (2014-2020) 98 per cent

=16. Mazda CX-3 (2016-present) 98 per cent

=16. Kia Picanto (2011-2017) 98 per cent

21. Skoda Karoq petrol (2017-present) 97.8 per cent

22. Volvo XC40 petrol (2017-present) 97.7 per cent

23. Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid (2017-present) 97.3 per cent

=24. Toyota Auris Hybrid (2013-2019) 97.2 per cent

=24. Ford Mondeo (2014-present) 97.2 per cent

26. Suzuki SX4 S-Cross (2013-present) 97.1 per cent

=27. Volkswagen Tiguan petrol (2016-present) 96.9 per cent

=27. Honda Jazz (2015-present) 96.9 per cent

=27. Alfa Romeo Giulia (2016-present) 96.9 per cent

30. BMW 2 Series Coupe/Convertible (2014-present) 96.8 per cent

=31. Vauxhall Mokka petrol (2012-2019) 96.7 per cent

=31. Skoda Fabia (2015-present) 96.7 per cent

=31. Lexus RX (2009-2016) 96.7 per cent

=31. Jaguar I-Pace (2018-present) 96.7 per cent

=35. Mercedes E-Class (2009-2016) 96.5 per cent

=35. Mazda 2 (2015-present) 96.5 per cent

=37. Mazda CX-5 petrol (2017-present) 96.4 per cent

=37. Ford Focus petrol (2018-present) 96.4 per cent

=39. Volvo XC40 diesel (2017-present) 96.3 per cent

=39. Skoda Karoq diesel (2017-present) 96.3 per cent

41. Mazda 6 (2013-present) 96.2 per cent

42. Ford C-Max (2011-present) 96.1 per cent

43. Mini Hatchback petrol (2014-present) 96 per cent

=44. Skoda Octavia petrol (2013-2020) 95.9 per cent

=44. Skoda Kodiaq petrol (2016-present) 95.9 per cent

46. Seat Leon petrol (2013-2020) 95.8 per cent

=47. Volkswagen T-Roc (2017-present) 95.7 per cent

=47. Porsche Macan petrol (2014-present) 95.7 per cent

=49. Renault Captur (2013-2019) 95.6 per cent

=49. Audi Q5 (2018-present) 95.6 per cent

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Car Dealer has been covering the motor trade since 2008 as both a print and digital publication. In 2020 the title went fully digital and now provides daily motoring updates on this website for the car industry. A digital magazine is published once a month.



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