THE Toyota Yaris is the most reliable of the UK’s best-selling cars.
From nippy city runarounds to larger family motors, British drivers have always had their favourites when it comes to getting from A to B with as little fuss as possible.
Now warranty specialists MotorEasy have run the numbers on the top 10 models to see which of them really delivers in terms of swerving hefty repairs bills.
And it’s the Yaris – the second cheapest model in the Toyota range – that tops the charts thanks to an impressive reliability rating almost double that of its nearest rival the Ford Fiesta, the nation’s most-bought car.
The Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra make up the top five, with the MINI One, Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Polo and Golf, and BMW 3 Series further down the list.
Duncan McClure Fisher, founder and CEO of MotorEasy said, “These top 10 models have a combined 8.5million licensed for use on UK roads, and for good reason – they are seen as dependable vehicles from trusted brands.
“But digging deeper into how reliable they actually are shows there’s some disparity. Our data revealed Toyota’s budget runaround the Yaris fared best, with lower repair costs and a lower frequency for these repairs.
“Maybe surprisingly it was German brands Volkswagen and BMW that were bottom of our reliability list of these popular models.”
|
To accurately rank the cars, experts at MotorEasy developed their own Reliability Index – a tool that measures dependability as an average of the frequency and cost of repairs for more than 1,200 models.
In doing so it reveals some of the hidden costs of ownership, as well as the likelihood of something going wrong.
Each model is given a reliability score ranging from -100 for a high frequency and/or high cost of repair, through to +100 where there is a low frequency and cost of repair.
|
Make Models on UK roads and Reliability Rating
1 Toyota Yaris 489,878 +37
2 Ford Fiesta 1,530,969 +20
3 Vauxhall Corsa 1,058,745 +10.5
4 Ford Focus 1,198,667 +5
5 Vauxhall Astra 857,081 +3.5
6 MINI One 575,831 +3
7 Nissan Qashqai 552,660 -4
8 Volkswagen Polo 678,366 -6.5
9 Volkswagen Golf 1,046,668 -15.5
10 BMW 3 Series 578,674 -32
|
The index also includes model-specific data on the typical repairs needed for each model – including the percentage of claims for engine, gearbox, electrical system, suspension, braking system and fuel system repairs – and the average cost for each of these repairs.
The Toyota Yaris emerged with a score of 37, almost double that of the second-placed Ford Fiesta which achieved a mark of 20.
A breakdown of the data revealed engine repairs for a Yaris cost an average of £84.46 and have a 5.56% frequency of claims made.
This is compared to a BMW 3 Series, which has an average engine repairs cost of £1,784.70 and a claims percentage of 21.14%.
The only other top 10 models in positive numbers were the Vauxhall Corsa (10.5), Ford Focus (5), Vauxhall Astra (3.5) and MINI One (3).
Meanwhile, the BMW 3 Series came in 10th with a ranking of -32, while the Nissan Qashqai (-4), VW Polo (-6.5) and VW Golf (-15.5) also trailed behind the leaders.
The top 10 most popular models were calculated using the most recent data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for the number of licensed vehicles in the UK as of September 30, 2020.
Mr McClure Fisher added: “This is information every motorist wants to have at their fingertips when it comes to buying a new or used car.
“While performance, comfort and aesthetics are all important to motorists, the bottom line is will their car keep going without encountering issues that always cause headaches?”
The highest reliability rating of any car in the MotorEasy research was the Citroen C1 with a score of 43 – just ahead of the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer (42.5) and the Hyundai i30 (42).
