Looked at cars up to 10 years old
A clock that stands still tells the right time twice a day. That shows again. According to research by the Consumers’ Association, the Volkswagen Polo is the most reliable car at the moment. Why is that so striking? The second most unreliable brand according to the research is Volkswagen. About the Polo, the association says: ‘Only one in twenty owners had to visit the garage for something that could actually wait.’ The Consumers’ Association puts Tesla at the bottom of the list. This is the only brand with an unsatisfactory rating.
Last year Lexus was still at the top of the list as the most reliable brand, but this time it is Mitsubishi, mainly due to the reliability of the Outlander and the ASX. If you are looking for a reliable car, the association recommends getting one from Japan or South Korea. ‘This year, too, seven brands in the top ten come from Japan or Korea’, is the conclusion. We only encounter the first French brand at number 21 with the number 6.4. As far as we are concerned, you can also count Dacia as a French brand; the manufacturer with Romanian roots is in 14th place.
How does the Consumers’ Association test the most reliable cars of 2021?
For starters, cars older than 2011 don’t participate. All other owners may complete a questionnaire. It asks how often they had a breakdown with their car. The breakdown is then again divided into three categories: a) the repair could wait, b) the car had to drive straight to the garage or c) the car could no longer drive. The worse the complaint, the more heavily it counts for the assessment. A total of 7,000 owners took part in the survey.
Electronics are a big cause
‘Software problems are increasingly the cause of car breakdowns. Also for relatively young cars’, the Consumers’ Association reports. That’s one of the reasons why Tesla is so low on the list; they are driving computers. ‘Especially with the information system of the Tesla Model S, where the computer crashes. There are also many reports about the door handles of this car. These should automatically slide out of the door when the owner walks up to them, but that doesn’t always happen.’
List of the most reliable cars in 2021
01. Mitsubishi – 8.4
02. Suzuki – 8.3
03. Mazda – 8.2
04. Subaru – 8.1
05. Honda – 8.0
05. Mini – 8.0
05. Toyota – 8.0
08. Kia – 7.6
09. BMW – 7.4
09. Seat – 7.4
11. Mercedes-Benz – 7.3
11. Lexus – 7.3
13. Hyundai – 7.2
14. Dacia – 6.9
15. Fiat – 6.8
16. Alfa Romeo – 6.7
16. Skoda – 6.7
18. Nissan – 6.6
18. Opel – 6.6
20. Volvo – 6.5
21. Peugeot – 6.4
22. Audi – 6.3
23. Ford – 6.2
23. Renault – 6.2
25. Citroen – 6.1
26. Volkswagen – 6.0
27. Tesla – 5.2
