What a Car - UK - (2020-04)

whatcar.com^ April 2020 41

FiatPanda(2012on)Reliabilityrating96.0%

ThelatestPandaisprovingprettysturdysofar,withonly8%of

carssufferingafault.Repairbillsrangedfrom£100to£200andthe

batterywastheonlyafflictedarea.Thesamecan’tbesaidforthe

previous-generationmodel(seebelow).

SkodaCitigo(2012on)Reliabilityrating92.8%

ThisSkodacitycarfaresbetterthanitsstablemate,theVolkswagen

Up,forreliability,althoughtheUpisn’tfarbehind,infourthplace

with90%.Ownerstoldusthat16%ofCitigoshadanissue,with

suspensionbeingthemostcommonproblem,followedbythe

gearbox/clutchandnon-engineelectrics.Allcarsremaineddriveable

andhalfwerefixedunderwarranty,butsometookmorethanaweek

tofixandcostupto£750.

HondaJazz(2008-2015)Reliabilityrating94.3%

TheJazzisnotonlypractical,thankstoitscleverdouble-folding

‘magic’rearseats,butalsohighlydependable.Brakeswerethe

mostfrequentlycitedissue,withasmallpercentageofownersalso

reportingproblemswiththeair-con,battery,bodyworkandsteering.

Mostcarscouldstillbedrivenandcost£100orlesstorepair.

ToyotaYaris(2011on)Reliabilityrating93.9%

TheYarismaynotbeasroomyinsideastheHondaJazz,butit’s

almostassturdy.Only14%ofcarssufferedafault,withissuessplit

evenlybetweenthebattery,bodyworkandgearbox.Although

two-thirdsofthestrickencarscouldn’tbedriven,themajority

ofthemwerebackontheroadthesameday,whilerepairbills

rangedfromfreeto£1000.

Fiat Panda (2004-2012) Reliability rating 71.0%

If you want a Panda, we’d advise you buy as new as you can, because

this little city car doesn’t age well. Owners said 32% of cars had a

fault, with the gearbox and suspension being the most common

gripes, followed by the battery. Although no repair bills topped £750,

a third of the cars were rendered undriveable.

Toyota Aygo (2005-2014) Reliability rating 77.3%

With 45% of cars suffering a fault, the Aygo isn’t as bulletproof as its

twin, the Citroën C1, which gained an 84% reliability rating and had

fewer faults (25%). The most commonly reported problem area on

the Aygo was bodywork, followed by the exhaust and gearbox. Most

cars could still be driven and were fixed the same day, but a small

proportion of owners were stung with bills of up to £1500.

Hyundai i20 (2009-2015) Reliability rating 67.8%

More than a third (35%) of i20 owners said their car had been

afflicted by a problem, with the gearbox and suspension each

accounting for 10% of faults. Although three-quarters of the

faulty cars remained driveable, repairs were relatively costly,

ranging from £101 to £750.

Mini hatchback (2001-2006) Reliability rating 73.7%

Only 17% of older Minis suffered a fault, but some of the problem

areas were serious: 11% of issues were related to the suspension

and 6% were to do with the engine and gearbox. More than half of

the afflicted cars couldn’t be driven, while repair costs ranged from

£51 to more than £1500.

City cars Small cars

Peugeot 107 (2005-2014)

What went wrong?

Bodywork6%Brakes6%

Suzuki Swift (2010-2017)

What went wrong?

Battery6%

Fiat 500 (2008on)

Whatwentwrong?

Air-con9%Gearbox9%Suspension9%

Battery6%Exhaust6%Non-engine

electrics6%Bodywork3%Brakes3%

Engineelectrics3%Interiortrim3%Steering3%

Peugeot 207 (2006-2012)

Whatwentwrong?

Engine19%Air-con14%Gearbox14%

Suspension14%Exhaust10%Bodywork5%

Brakes5%Steering5%

LEASTRELIABLE LEASTRELIABLE

MOST RELIABLE MOST RELIABLE

RELIABILITY

RATING

97.8%

RELIABILITY

RATING

98.6%

RELIABILITY

RATING

69.3%

RELIABILITY

RATING

63.2%

Owner comment

“Cheap to own, fun to drive

and ridiculously reliable,

plus parts are cheap”

Owner comment

“It hasn’t let me down and

I haven’t had to have any

major work done on it”

Owner comment

“It’s suffered one fault after the

next, including one the day after

it came out of the garage”

Owner comment

“I’m always waiting for the

next thing to break on it”

AGE IS NO barrier to being

dependable, as Peugeot’s 107

demonstrates; it dates back

to 2005 and went off sale six

years ago, yet it has a superb

reliability record. Only 12% of

cars had a problem, and the

only areas concerned were the

bodywork and brakes. All cars

were fixed the same day, with

no bills exceeding £100.

THE SWIFT IS small and almost

perfectly formed when it

comes to reliability. Only 6%

of cars suffered a problem,

and the only area affected

was the battery. All cars were

back on the road the same

day, with repair bills ranging

from £51 to £100.

The 500 struck problems

in 11 of our 14 different

categories. Owners told

us that 32% of their cars

suffered a fault, with the air

conditioning, gearbox and

suspension all cited as big

areas of concern. A third of the

cars couldn’t be driven and

repair bills of £300 to £500

were common, with some

costing up to £1500.

A SHOCKING 57% of 207s

had a fault, with 19% of them

suffering engine problems

and the air conditioning,

gearbox and suspension each

accounting for 14% of issues.

Most cars could still be driven

and around half were fixed

the same day, and while most

work cost a few hundred

pounds, some owners paid

up to £1000.