British and French brands produce Europe’s most reliable cars, according to the latest research by Warranty Direct’s Reliability Index.
With the 85th Geneva Motor Show displaying the latest automotive technology closing its doors at the end of last week, Warranty Direct has revealed which are Europe’s most reliable models. The vehicles analysed were an average of five years old with mileages of around 50,000.
British brand, Vauxhall, topped the table with its diminutive Agila model the most reliable European-badged car on the road.
French manufacturers, Peugeot and Citroen completed the top three, with their similarly small 107 and C1 superminis.
Swedish, Spanish, German and Czech brands also won places in the top 10 reliability rankings with Volvo, SEAT, Volkswagen, Smart and Skoda.
Vauxhall’s Agila is most likely to incur issues with its axle and suspension, accounting for an average of 30% of its faults. The cooling and heating system is responsible for 44% of the Peugeot 107’s downtime; with fellow French carmaker Citroen finding most of the issues in its C1 derive from the electrics.
Warranty Direct managing director, David Gerrans, said, “It’s good to see a British manufacturer at the top of the table, especially at a time when Britain’s automotive industry is flying high. Our data also highlights that Swedish, Czech, Spanish and French carmakers are all more reliable than their often celebrated German counterparts, which will surprise some consumers, who may still assume that German cars are the most durable.”
Volvo S40 drivers report more axle and suspension faults, with a third suffering. Smart’s Fortwo most frequently faces engine issues, accounting for a third of its breakdowns. At the other end of the scale, the Audi RS6 is Europe’s most unreliable vehicle, with data indicating it’ll break down at least once a year. Four out of the five most unreliable models are produced by German manufacturers.
| TEN MOST RELIABLE EUROPEAN CARS | |||
| Car | Reliability Index | Most Common Faults | |
| Vauxhall Agila | 9 | Axle & suspension 30% | |
| Peugeot 107 | 18 | Cooling & heating 43.75% | |
| Citroen C1 | 20 | Electrical 44.44% | |
| Volvo S40 | 25 | Axle & suspension 33.33% | |
| Peugeot 3008 | 29 | Electrical 40% | |
| Seat Ibiza | 30 | Axle and suspension 25% | |
| Volkswagen Lupo | 30 | Electrical 57.14% | |
| Skoda Fabia | 32 | Electrical 34.62% | |
| Citroen Berlingo | 38 | Electrical 45% | |
| Smart ForTwo | 50 | Engine 31.37% | |
| FIVE LEAST RELIABLE CARS | ||
| Car | Reliability index | Most common fault |
| Audi RS6 | 1123 | Axle and suspension 34.43% |
| BMW M5 | 766 | Electrical 29.47% |
| Porsche 996 | 652 | Electrical 26.27% |
| Bentley Continental GT | 593 | Electrical 31.73% |
| Mercedes-Benz CL | 582 | Axles & suspension 32.39% |
Warranty Direct’s Reliability Index score is calculated from a database of more than 50,000 live policies.
