Most-reliable cars for 2023

Whether you're looking for the most-reliable small car, SUV or MPV, use our research to find the models you can trust - and those you can't.

In our annual Which? car survey, we ask thousands of motorists about their cars, the issues they've had and whether they've broken down, allowing us to reveal the most-reliable vehicles on the market. With the data we collect, we can determine how reliable a model is in its first four years since being manufactured, as well as those aged 5-9 years and 10-15 years.

If we find one that's particularly unreliable, it can't be a Best Buy regardless of how well it performed in our lab tests. For example, according to our latest survey, the least-reliable car was reported to have spent a hefty average of 12 days off the road being repaired in the year covered by our survey.

Best cars for 2023 - discover the models that aced our lab tests, and those to avoid

Revealed: the most reliable cars

Last year, we surveyed more than 49,000 car owners and used their feedback to provide robust reliability ratings for hundreds of vehicles. Use our research to make sure you don't throw away your money on one that will let you down.

Here's a snapshot of our research: 

• A total of 49,576 drivers reported on 58,532 cars - thank you to everyone who took part in our survey.
• Only 30 models managed a full five-star rating in the 0-4 and 5-9 year age groups, including one of the best-selling models in the UK. 
• 13% of owners of a UK best-selling car reported software problems. 

Which? members can log in now to use the reliability look-up tool below. Not yet a member? Join Which? to unlock our results and to access all of our online reviews, including all of our expert, independent new and used car reviews.

Most reliable new car

The most reliable car under four years old received the full five-star rating after 94% of owners reported no faults whatsoever in the year running up to our survey or any breakdowns.  

The least-reliable car under four years old received a pitiful one-star rating, which comes as no surprise after more than half of its owners had a fault with theirs in the year covered by our survey.

With smaller faults ranging from issues with the paintwork, ventilation and seats, up to more serious engine issues, the least reliable car was reported to have spent an average of 12 days off the road in the year covered by our survey, while a further 52% actually broke down. 

• The most-reliable car aged 0-4 years had nearly no faults and not a single breakdown in the year running up to our survey. 
• The least-reliable car for this age group is particularly prone to faults. An alarmingly high 58% of owners had at least one problem that needed a professional fix in the year before our survey.

Most-reliable used car

The most reliable car aged between 5-9 years old had a below-average proportion of faults and breakdowns for its age and most common faults were minor - resulting in a fantastic full five-star rating.

On the other hand, a staggering 62% of owners of the least-reliable car (5-9 years) had to take their car to the garage for repairs in the space of 12 months, and a worrying 8% of these cars actually broke down. Add a deluge of common faults and a longer than average amount of time spent off the road, and this car gets a pitiful one-star reliability rating.

• Only 8% of owners of the most reliable car (aged 5 to 9 years), experienced a fault in the 12 months covered by our survey. Most faults reported were relatively minor and not a single car broke down. 
• More than half of owners of the least-reliable car for this age group had to get at least one fault fixed. There were numerous types of issues and 8% of cars actually broke down.

Join Which? to unlock our expert research.

What is reliability? 

To put our star ratings into context, the table below shows the average fault rates per star rating and age group. 

Most-reliable new cars for 2023 by class

Looking for a specific style of car? Our reliability data reveals the reliable models in some of the most-popular car classes.

Most-reliable new city car

This city car has an outstanding reliability record according to our annual survey of owners. Few cars offer as fault-free a driving experience, with it scoring a perfect five stars out of five for reliability for cars aged 0-4 years.

Some 94% of owners reported no faults whatsoever over the past year. It’s also among a very exclusive club of cars with not a single owner reporting a breakdown in the past year – even more remarkable considering it launched quite a few years ago now.

Curious as to which car we're talking about? Log in to your Which? account to find out. Not yet a member? Join Which? today.

Most-reliable new small car

An astonishing 91% of owners enjoyed fault-free driving over the past year with this car.

Even more positively, owners didn’t report any single fault with their car in any significant numbers.

Could this be the small car for you? Log in to your Which? account to find out which model we're talking about. Not yet a member? Join Which? today.

Most-reliable new medium car

This medium car is a solid, practical family car that scored a perfect five stars for reliability in this year’s Which? car survey.

95% of owners said that they didn’t experience any faults at all with their car in the year covered by our survey.

Log in to your Which? account to find the name of this reliable medium car. Not yet a member? Join Which? today.

Most reliable small SUV

This small SUV scored a maximum five stars for reliability.

Just 8% of owners experienced some sort of fault in the past year and only around 2% of cars broke down. 

Discover the make and model of this small SUV by logging in to your Which? account. Not yet a member? Join Which? today.

Most reliable medium/large SUV

This new SUV has has a rock-solid, five-star reliability rating.

A stunning 94% of owners said they didn’t experience a single fault with their car over the 12 months covered by our survey. Even more impressively, not a single owner in our survey had their car break down.

To find out which model this is and how it fared in our other tests, Log in to your Which? account. Not yet a member? Join Which? today.

Which brand makes the most-reliable cars?

If you've not yet decided on a model and want to narrow down your search, you can see which manufacturer puts the most effort into making sure its cars don't break down and develop faults. 

We've looked at cars made by 40 different manufacturers to find out which brand makes the most reliable vehicle. 

Head to our most reliable car brands to see which manufacturers we recommend.

Compare insurance

We’ve partnered with Confused.com to help you get a great deal on your insurance.

Use Which? Switch