Peugeot, Skoda and Hyundai ranked highly as reliable brands but it’s bad news for BMW, Fiat and Audi
BMW has been named as the least reliable brand following research that looked at how many problems drivers reported with their vehicles.
Of the 100 BMWs included in the study, 181 faults were identified – well below the industry average of 119.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, the most reliable brand has been identified as Peugeot, with owners reporting just 77 problems per 100 vehicles.
The study, conducted by JD Power, used data from more than 11,000 car owners to track the number of faults experienced in cars registered between November 2015 and January 2018, reports the Mirror.
Researchers looked at 177 problematic symptoms in eight categories including driving experience, navigation and audio to rank vehicles for the study which is now in its fifth year.
Although the average score slightly improved compared to last year, issues with built-in Bluetooth, built-in voice recognition, navigation systems and poor radio reception continued to infuriate drivers.
Electric and hybrid cars had more issues with their engines, navigation devices and seats than their combustion engine counterparts.
Most to least reliable brands
- Peugeot – 77 problems per 100 vehicles
- Skoda – 88 problems per 100 vehicles
- Hyundai – 90 problems per 100 vehicles
- Nissan – 94 problems per 100 vehicles
- Suzuki – 94 problems per 100 vehicles
- Vauxhall – 95 problems per 100 vehicle
- Kia – 101 problems per 100 vehicles
- Mini – 103 problems per 100 vehicles
- Volvo – 106 problems per 100 vehicles
- Honda – 109 problems per 100 vehicles
- Volkswagen – 113 problems per 100 vehicles
- Dacia – 114 problems per 100 vehicles
- Seat – 117 problems per 100 vehicles
- Mazda – 122 problems per 100 vehicles
- Renault – 122 problems per 100 vehicles
- Citroen – 126 problems per 100 vehicles
- Toyota – 134 problems per 100 vehicles
- Mercedes-Benz – 136 problems per 100 vehicles
- Land Rover – 142 problems per 100 vehicles
- Jaguar – 159 problems per 100 vehicles
- Audi – 167 problems per 100 vehicles
- Fiat – 173 problems per 100 vehicles
- BMW – 181 problems per 100 vehicles
Josh Halliburton, head of European operations at J.D. Power, said: “When we look at the PP100 scores of relatively new safety technologies, it’s clear that manufacturers still have work to do to perfect those systems — particularly premium brands that use them as a major selling point.
“It’s also going to be vital for vehicle makers to win customer trust in this technology if they are to convince potential buyers that fully automated vehicles in the future will be reliable.
“For example, such buyers are quite likely to question the safety of self-driving cars if brands still struggle with the accuracy of their navigation systems.”
