Car warranty provider Warrantywise has named the UK’s ten most reliable cars, with the Honda Jazz ranked at the top of the pile, thanks to the supermini’s durable build quality and low repair costs.
Warrantywise, which is also one of The Car Expert’s commercial partners, collected the data from 131,000 policyholders on vehicles up to ten years old – excluding very low volume models.
The data is then used to generate a reliability score for each car, and the cars are then ranked in the Warrantywise reliability index. Dominated by city cars and superminis from the likes of Honda, Kia, Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai and Peugeot, this reliability report highlights that some of the cheapest options on the market can often be some of the most reliable.
The ten most unreliable cars on UK roads
| Model | Highest repair cost | Reliability score |
| Honda Jazz | £974 | 94 |
| Mazda 2 | £2,422 | 90 |
| Toyota Auris | £1,842 | 90 |
| Mazda MX-5 | £587 | 87 |
| Toyota Aygo | £1,339 | 86 |
| Kia Ceed | £1,914 | 85 |
| Kia Rio | £1,655 | 85 |
| Suzuki Alto | £734 | 84 |
| Hyundai i20 | £2,361 | 83 |
| Peugeot 107 | £1,128 | 82 |
The report includes the highest repair fee that Warrantywise has paid out to policyholders that drive these cars, as well as a reliability score that is generated by the frequency of repair claims and how expensive these claims usually are.
Inevitably, as the data goes back up to ten years, some of the model names above may cross generations. The Honda Jazz, Mazda 2, Mazda MX-5, Kia Ceed, Kia Rio and Hyundai i20 have all model changes within the last few years, while the Toyota Auris, Toyota Aygo, Suzuki Alto and Peugeot 107 have been discontinued or replaced by different models (Toyota Corolla, Toyota Aygo X, Peugeot 108).
The company says that the title of Britain’s most reliable used car belongs to the Honda Jazz not only because of its low repair frequency, but also its low repair costs – with an average pay out of just over £424.
“It’s unsurprising to see Honda top the table, given how reliable its cars have proven to be time and time again”, says Warrantywise CEO Lawrence Whittaker. This reliability ranking correlates with other reliability surveys and reports conducted over the years, as well as The Car Expert’s own data provided for our Expert Rating Index by MotorEasy, which reinforces the findings in this report.
The ten best used cars in Warrantywise’s index all come from ‘mainstream’ brands, while cheaper alternatives from budget brands like Dacia and MG Motors fail to reach the top ten. On the opposite end of the scale, Warrantywise has also recently compiled a list of the most unreliable used cars on the market – the last-generation Range Rover ranking dead last.
- Warrantywise has a special car warranty offer for The Car Expert readers*
- More car buying advice and analysis from The Car Expert
More car warranty information
*Warrantywise is a commercial partner of The Car Expert. If you click through to their websites and proceed to purchase a used car warranty, we may receive a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
