These are the most unreliable brands and cars in Europe

Once again this year, the OCU (Organisation of Consumers and Users) returns to the market's benchmark reliability ranking, which shows which brands and cars are the most and least reliable, after surveying 29,873 motorists in nine European countries.

As usual, Asian firms top the ranking. In particular, Lexus (with a reliability index of 98), Suzuki (93), Subaru (93) and Toyota (91) are the best performers.

In fifth place is the top European manufacturer, Cupra (91), followed by Kia (89), smart (89), Honda (89), Mitsubishi (89) and Nissan (87), rounding off the top ten. If we consider smart as a partly European brand (it belongs to Mercedes-Benz and also to the Chinese giant Geely), we have two from our continent in the top ten.  

Gallery: Lexus UX 300h 2024

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Brands with the most breakdowns

And which brands have the most breakdowns? According to the OCU, Land Rover (64) takes the top spot, followed by Opel (76), Peugeot (80), Citroën (80), Volkswagen (80), Ford (80), Lancia (80) and Renault (82).

A curious case is that of Tesla (84), which has gone from being the worst firm in 2022 to being in the middle of the table due to the good reliability of the Model Y. Below is the full ranking. As you can see, there are no manufacturers with excessively negative results.  

Car reliability

Now let's talk about the most reliable cars. Looking at them by engine, six of the top ten are non-plug-in hybrids, two are electric and two are petrol. To find the first diesel car in this ranking, we have to go to number 25. 

Among the new hybrids, the Fiat Panda and Suzuki Ignis stand out. The best electric car is the Tesla Model Y, while the best plug-in hybrid is the Ford Kuga PHEV. The most reliable pure petrol cars are the Audi A1 Sportback, Volkswagen T-Cross and Mazda CX-5. Last but not least, the Audi Q5 is the top diesel in this area. 

And the used cars? The Lexus NX (2014-2021) stands out in hybrids, the BMW i3 (2014-2023) in electrics, the Mitsubishi Outlander (2013-2022) in plug-in hybrids, the Suzuki S-Cross (2013-2021) in petrol and the BMW 2 Series (2013-2021) in diesels. 

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Finally, the most common breakdowns, with 13%, are electrical (bulbs, warning lights, windows, batteries, fuses). Next, with 9%, are those related to the brake system (discs, pads, pumps, drums). Finally, electronic or ignition-related faults account for 8% of the total. 

Source: OCU