When it comes to needing a car for everyday life, drivers want a few things—practicality, fuel economy, and reliability. The latter is contentious at times when even those brands best known for reliability are plagued by product recalls that tarnish their reputation. As is this case for some brands, they have incredibly reliable models that are overshadowed by the problems of their stablemates.
However, let's look at the brands you can rely on the most, all things considered, as well as their most reliable cars. We also discuss a brand you should avoid for good measure!
Why We Love Toyota
The first of many Japanese brands on this list, Toyota has a long history of reliable products. The Toyota Hilux, in all its generations, is the backbone of infrastructure and logistics the world over. Controversially it has been the defacto vehicle in international war zones, especially over the past decade.
This firmly placed it in the same category of endorsed products such as the Casio F-91W. This reputation for reliability rings true in other Toyota products; in the luxury space comes the Land Cruiser. Larger and more plush than the Hilux, these have often fallen into the hands of the rich and powerful in less economically developed countries, where the reliability of a Range Rover would become a source of anxiety.
However, Toyota's reputation has been damaged; between 2009 and 2011, the Japanese brand was forced to recall a series of Camry and Corolla models as the accelerator pedal could become stuck and cause unintended acceleration. This was followed by a second recall regarding the failure of anti-braking software. At the time, this was headline-worthy news due to the brand's status as a reliable and safe choice.
Recent recalls are easy to find on the Toyota website. As a result of this controversy, most of their models in the past two years have had to go back for minor work. Despite these recalls, Toyota scores highly in What Car?'s reliability report coming in third with a 97.7% rating.
Here's Why Lexus Is Great For Reliability
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Lexus, the upmarket and luxury brand of Toyota, also makes this list. Lexus has often been a part of Toyota's more interesting engineering projects, notably the V10-powered Lexus LFA. Lexus placed first in What Car?'s reliability report with 98.7% and was rated with 87% reliability by CarWow, placing it in second.
Offering an array of eye-catching models, Lexus produces everything from coupes to large SUVs, all with hybrid and electrified options; Lexus models often have both eyes firmly placed on the future. What Car? suggests that hybrid and electrified cars score the highest with a class score of 96.7%, making Lexus' flagship models a very appealing option as a daily driver.
Why You Might Want To Avoid Land Rover
The Land Rover was a rugged and dependable vehicle that arose out of necessity. Famously known in Britain for being serviceable with just one screwdriver, the Land Rover was adopted as a common workhorse by everyone from farmers to firemen to florists.
Over its life, the Land Rover became iconic. With a special model being made for every need and a great potential for customization, the Land Rover's reliability is unquestionable. This does not carry through to the rest of the brand's vehicles such as the Discovery, Freelander, or their luxury rides as with vehicles like the Range Rover.
Placing thirty-first in What Car's reliability report, scoring a dire 78.2%, it might be best to avoid Land Rover and, by extension, Jaguar. The average repair cost is not cheap either, as most bills are expected to be over $1000/£1000 on Range Rover and Discovery models.
Mitsubishi Is A Very Reliable Brand
Another Japanese brand to make the list, Mitsubishi, rarely makes headlines. Producing a range of cheaper alternatives to more premium brands, they often miss the mark in many places.
The brand came in second place with a 97.9% reliability score, explaining why the L200 pickup truck has been slowly cutting away at the market share of other brand's sales over the past few years.
As is expected with a Japanese brand, they have pioneered future technologies; the Outlander PHEV was one of the first larger hybrid vehicles to make it to market in 2012, experiencing great sales success. Without any major faults, their range of vehicles is a safe purchase.
Skoda
Remarkably the German luxury brands have scored relatively poorly in reliability; with plenty of electronics, these vehicles often need minor work over time. In a more shocking twist, the Volkswagen Group brands scores are equally mediocre.
Skoda is the most successful German carmaker in What Car?'s report, landing in fifth. With the same engineering as many Volkswagen-branded vehicles, these cars are arguably over-engineered.
But as the most basic brand under the Volkswagen umbrella, Skodas come without the trinkets that often go awry on premium vehicles, meaning less can go wrong with unnecessary features like infotainment, parking assistance, and massaging seats. So, there's often no need to visit a mechanic. As a result, the Skoda Kodiaq vRS has become part of the land support team for the air ambulance.
The Most Reliable Car You Can Buy
Unsurprisingly this car is from a Japanese Brand, is electrified, and has fewer luxury features on it to go wrong, meeting all the criteria to be a highly reliable car. Warrantywise found the Nissan Leaf is the most reliable vehicle currently on the road.
The Nissan Leaf is one of the more affordable electric vehicles, selling for $31,670/£29,790. It is compromised when it comes to driving range but is more than adequate to fulfill the requirements of a daily driver.