Italians are known for their long catalog of small city cars, luxury sports cars, and, of course, the best of exotic supercars. These cars are known to deliver pure driving, albeit at a premium price, most of the time. It is common for celebrities or athletes to gift themselves an Italian-made sports car once they enter the big money league. And who can blame them?. These cars ooze style, class, and posh personality.
But, Italian-made cars have over the years built a bad reputation for being some of the most notoriously unreliable brands in the market. They will have to produce reliable cars consistently to change the narrative. However, amidst the many utterly unreliable cars, the Italians have also released some delightful machines that are solid and dependable.
10 Ferrari 360 Modena
The Ferrari 360 Modena is one of the more affordable exotic cars you will find on the market today. Released in 1999, it was arguable the first legit modern Ferrari that was also comfortable enough for daily use. But it also brought reliability to Ferrari. The cars were extremely durable and did not break down on a regular basis like other Ferraris.
While the Modena did have common problems you find in other cars, it had substantially lower maintenance costs than other Ferrari models. Many reviews have praised it for its practicality and reliability, often crediting it with ushering in a new Ferrari car era.
9 Fiat 124 Spider
While the Italians are more famous for their exotic car exports, Fiat, who make regular everyday cars, dominates the Italian automotive industry. However, Fiat has underwhelming customer satisfaction, having come in 23rd out of 26 manufacturers in the Car Buyer’s Driver Power survey of 2018. The Fiat 124 Spider is an exception because its blend of Italian flair and Japanese dependability makes it safe and reliable.
The Fiat 124 Spider shares a platform with the Mazda MX-5 Miata, which has a solid reputation for being reliable and affordable to maintain when something breaks.
8 Lamborghini Gallardo
Modern regularly driven Lamborghinis are known to be reasonably reliable, especially after VW Group acquired the company. Car and Driver once reported a British-owned Murcielago with more than 258,000 miles on the clock. The Lamborghini Gallardo was engineered to be more usable than the Murcielago; therefore, you can expect it to be more dependable.
Since its debut in 2003, Gallardo owners have reportedly had a very high customer satisfaction with their cars. The yearly maintenance cost is usually between $800 to $2,000, which is quite reasonable for a Lamborghini.
7 Lamborghini Huracán
When the Lamborghini Huracán took over in 2014, its reworked 5.2-liter V10 powerplant had already served the Gallardo for ten years without raising major complaints. The Gallardo was by far one of the most reliable cars from the Italian manufacturer.
If you want a more exotic car than the Audi R8, you can’t go wrong with the Huracán, which is as safe and reliable as the R8. After all, they share an engine. Also, forget the horrendous Lamborghini reliability of the past; the Huracán boasts robust and quality underpinnings from the VW group but dressed with Lamborghini branding.
6 Ferrari F430
The F430 shone as one of the most enjoyable daily drivers, something that Ferraris of the past seemed to tank. It was based on the equally capable Ferrari 360 Modena. Its only flaw was that it was a two-seater, but that is the standard with many sports cars.
Ferrari engineered the F430 to properly handle the rigors of daily driving, so the result was a solid car free of recurrent issues. For instance, they used timing chains instead of cambelts, which reduced the need for cambelt service — still, it will cost more than you spend to maintain the average Japanese car but much cheaper for a Ferrari.
5 Alfa Romeo Guilia
Recent developments indicate that Alfa Romeo is slowly salvaging its weak reputation by churning out cars with better reliability than they have historically. Still far from rescued, but the Alfa Romeo Guilia makes a strong reliability case. The 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey ranked the Guilia above the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class in the luxury sedan category.
While a substantial proportion of owners reported issues with the Guilia, they were minor problems and swiftly fixed. Other complaints were on practicality and running costs. Also, with an all-new platform, we expect the Guilia to have improved reliability.
4 Ferrari California
The modern Ferrari California brought back the nameplate used in the 50s and 60s and was a landmark car that brought several concepts to Ferrari. It was the first with the mid-mounted V8 engine design, first with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, first folding metal roof on a hardtop convertible, and first with the direct injection system. Also, reliability isn’t a concern for this entry-level sports car.
The Ferrari California is quick, practical, affordable, and easily one of the most reliable Ferraris on the road today.
3 Maserati GranTurismo
Maserati is another Italian brand that produces luxurious and fast cars that aren’t known for being reliable. They suffer many issues, mostly related to electricals, axles, and suspension. You would expect things to have improved, but the brand still lags behind in reliability index rankings. However, the Maserati GranTurismo, while not faultless, is one of the exceptions as it is much better when compared to the brand as a whole.
The striking GranTurismo is a thrilling and worthy competitor of the Porsche 911 and has been around since 2007. The Maserati GranTurismo’s fortunes have recently benefited from the Ferrari-built V8 powerplant, which is very reliable.
2 Lamborghini Urus
Lamborghini’s first SUV entry might just be the ultimate SUV we were waiting for. It is stylish, sleek, posh, and lightning-fast; it launches to 60mph in just 3.2 seconds. You will struggle to find a flaw in the Urus, and despite its hefty price tag, it is one of the more affordable Lamborghini’s money can buy.
The Urus seems to have bulletproof engineering behind it, and since it was launched in 2019, it hadn’t had a single recall. It remains durable and reliable, with an extended 5-year warranty coverage.
1 Ferrari 328
Modern Ferraris may be as reliable as any other high-performance vehicles out there, but the 80s were dominated by some of the most problematic Ferraris ever. The Ferrari 328 was an exception among the lot, with a reliable ride throughout its production from 1986 to 1989.
The car was a massive improvement on the older 308 model. It came with improved and more solid transmission, suspension, cooling, and more potent motors that did not break down as much as its siblings. Today, well-maintained 328s are still going strong and have few problems. Also, the car is considered one of the most reliable ever made by Ferrari.