12:01 am, October 1, 2026
Once the bastion of reliability, German car makers were the envy of the automotive industry when it came to building dependable cars – but not, it seems, any more.
A survey of nearly 40,000 car owners by the consumer publication What Car? has named the current generation Volkswagen Tiguan as the most unreliable car up to five years old.
Some 75% of Tiguan owners reported problems of some kind in the annual What Car? Reliability Survey.
The publication gives cars a score out of 100 with the top 10 most reliable cars scoring above 98%. However, the German-made Tiguan, built from 2024 and still on sale now, languished in bottom place with a score of just 55.3%.
What Car? said: ‘Tiguan owners cited the 12-volt battery, bodywork, brakes, engine electrics and infotainment as problematic.’
The second least reliable car was the Renault Arkana and in third place was another German, the Mercedes GLE.
And giving a first glimpse into the reliability of Chinese cars, March’s best selling model, the Jaecoo 7, was named the sixth least reliable car in a blow to the new manufacturer.
Top 10 LEAST Reliable Cars (up to five years old)
Source: What Car? Reliability Survey 2026
- Volkswagen Tiguan – 55.3%
- Renault Arkana – 58.5%
- Mercedes GLE – 63.7%
- Volkswagen ID 4 – 66.9%
- Land Rover Discovery Sport – 68.2%
- Jaecoo 7 – 71.9%
- BMW X3 petrol – 73.5%
- Volkswagen Tiguan – 74.4%
- Nissan Qashqai petrol – 74.9%
- Range Rover Evoque – 76.4%
What Car? found that one in five faults reported by owners weren’t fixed for free and, of those repairs that were charged for, 12% of owners faced bills of up to £500, and 3% faced bills of more than £1,500.
What Car? consumer editor, Claire Evans, said: ‘The study shows that popularity does not always equate to reliability.
‘The biggest concern is the number of faults that weren’t fixed for free. It highlights the need to choose a reliable model from a brand that offers comprehensive warranty coverage and swift repairs if anything should go wrong.’
Sharing spoils at the top of the pile, were the Mini Countryman and Suzuki Swift, both getting perfect 100% results. In third place was the Toyota Aygo X.
Top 10 MOST Reliable Cars (up to five years old)
Source: What Car? Reliability Survey 2026
- Mini Countryman – 100%
- Suzuki Swift – 100%
- Toyota Aygo X – 99.7%
- BMW 4 Series Coupe / Convertible – 99.6%
- Mini hatchback – 99.4%
- Kia Niro Hybrid / PHEV – 99.3%
- Lexus ES – 99.3%
- Kia Niro Hybrid / PHEV – 99.2%
- Hyundai i10 – 98.9%
- Mercedes E-Class – 98.7%
Commenting on the Mini’s results, What Car? said: ‘The Countryman is one of just two models in the 2026 survey to gain a perfect rating of 100%, making it the highest scorer of all 61 models in its class. This means every owner who reported on their car said it had suffered no faults at all.’
The publication said the Swift’s perfect score also helped propel Suzuki to the title of most reliable car manufacturer too.
What Car? reported on data submitted for 225 eligible models across 30 brands. A minimum of 15 owners of each model had to submit information for it to be included in the survey.
Car manufacturer reliability list 2026
Source: What Car? Reliability Survey 2026
- Suzuki – 97.8%
- Honda – 95.8%
- Mini – 95.4%
- Alfa Romeo – 94.0%
- Tesla – 93.8%
- Vauxhall – 93.6%
- Kia – 93.5%
- Peugeot – 92.8%
- MG – 92.0%
- Mazda – 91.6%
- Dacia – 91.2%
- Lexus – 90.7%
- Skoda – 90.6%
=14. Citroën – 90.3%
=14. Hyundai – 90.3% - Porsche – 89.7%
- Toyota – 89.6%
- Seat – 89.5%
- BMW – 88.7%
- Volvo – 88.6%
- Mercedes-Benz – 88.4%
- Ford – 88.1%
- Renault – 87.8%
- Nissan – 87.3%
- Cupra – 86.0%
- Fiat/Abarth – 85.9%
- Volkswagen – 85.8%
- Jaguar – 85.0%
- Audi – 84.9%
- Land Rover – 84.9%
Petrol cars were found to be the most dependable by fuel type, with just 20% of models suffering faults.
Hybrids followed with a 23% fault rate, while 27% of electric cars developed problems and diesels were the least reliable, with 32% affected.
Petrol cars were also the quickest to get back on the road, with 34% of faulty models fixed within a day.
Electric cars took the longest to repair, with 47% of those that went wrong off the road for more than a week, although manufacturers covered the cost of repairs for 88% of EV owners compared with 74% of diesel owners.
The full What Car? Survey is out now and can be found on its website.