If there is one thing that people want when they rent cars, it is for those cars to be reliable. Likewise, a company that makes its living off renting cars to people wants its products to be reliable and trustworthy. That is why most car hire companies keep up with the Reliability Survey. This is a report that is done every year to find out what the most reliable car manufacturer is in the UK. Once again, this award has gone to Honda.
The fact that Honda has been rated number one again in the UK should not come as a shock to anyone. In fact, this is the eighth consecutive year that Honda has been voted the most reliable. This survey was carried out by What Car? and the well-known warranty provider Warranty Direct. According to these two companies, the research is based on more than 50,000 warranty policies that cover vehicles between 3 and 8 years old.
Japanese car makers actually had a huge presence on this list. In fact, they almost completely dominated the top 10. The only three car makers that found themselves in the top 10 and were not Japanese were Ford, Hyundai and Chevrolet. Oddly enough, some of the more luxury brands did not fare so well on the list. Companies such as Land Rover, Bentley and Porsche found themselves ranked out of the top 10 altogether.
The reliability index is based on a number of different factors. For example, this survey takes into account how often each car has failed, the number of times it has to get sent in for work, the mileage of the car and even its age. All of these factors add up to give the car manufactures a score. In the case of the reliability survey, the higher the score, the worse the car manufacturer is rated. On average, most manufacturers got a score of around 100.
The report went on to say that the most reliable car overall was the Mitsubishi Lancer, years 2005 through 2008. Next on the list was the Vauxhall Agila, years 2000 through 2008. Shockingly the least reliable car was the Audi RS6. On top of that, the most expensive car to repair turned out to be the Porsche 911, which was not surprising. The report did show that the single biggest repair claim for 2013 was for a Ranger Rover.
The Reliability Survey also showed that the most cars ended up needing repairs due to electrical faults. In fact, 23.5 percent of all faults reported came from electrical problems. This was followed by suspension and axle issues, which accounted for about 22 percent of all faults.
Coming in first for another year is great news for Honda. Car hire companies are likely to continue to fill their fleets with reliable cars. Since Honda continues to be ranked the best in reliability, they will continue to be considered first when car hire companies look to add cars to their fleets.