Best engineered, most reliable cars?

[Ecosseven]

Reliability is a key criteria when considering a new daily driver. Looking at 2-3year old cars from the following manufacturers, who would you say produces the best engineered, most reliable vehicles?

Kia.
Hyundai.
Honda.
Toyota.

Thanks in advance.

[GroundEffect]

Lexus

Am I doing this right?

[big_boz]

Kia's are st st st, check my garage........i know what i'm talking about

Got to be a Toyota

[chrisw666]

A brand new Dacia Sandero.

[ewenm]

Is warranty length a factor?

[big_boz]

ewenm said:

Is warranty length a factor?

The problem with the KIA 7 year warranty is you are going to bloody need it!

[Ecosseven]

ewenm said:

Is warranty length a factor?

A longer warranty is attractive, yes. Not just so save the cost of repairs but also to get the car back on the road as quickly as possible.

[st4]

big_boz said:

The problem with the KIA 7 year warranty is you are going to bloody need it!

I thought they were quite reliable.

My take from there would be Honda. They make the most interesting cars on that list generally and engine failure rates are non existant

[RobM77]

I vote for:

Honda
Toyota
Nissan

Probably in roughly that order.

[anonymous-user]

If you want a properly engineered and reliable car buy,

a) An American car, or
b) A car with a succesful track record in the North American market.

[big_boz]

st4 said:

big_boz said:

The problem with the KIA 7 year warranty is you are going to bloody need it!

I thought they were quite reliable.

My take from there would be Honda. They make the most interesting cars on that list generally and engine failure rates are non existant

The wife has a leased 2012 Rio, its been back 5 times in a year to have faults fixed, although its never broken down, faults included Dash incorrectly fitted, LED wing mirror indicator failed, Bluetooth stopped working, stability control didn't work (which i found out in a very brown trouser moment) and the Hill assist control has never worked.

The in laws have a 2009 Sorento (now just out of warranty) it went back 3 times (i think?) for warranty fixes including a electrical issue, and the switch under the clutch pedal that has to be depressed to start the thing gave up. It is currently in Hudd's Kia with a borked ECU @ 40k miles.......over a grand to fix it.

We had planned on buying the RIO at the end of the lease......No chance of that now, bag of ste and the dealers are a bunch of clowns

[sparkythecat]

big_boz said:

Kia's are st st st, check my garage........i know what i'm talking about

Got to be a Toyota

Interestingly, I recently visited a well stocked local used car dealers specialising in 4x4s. I was looking at X-Trails and Freelanders. The dealer has a good reputation locally and turns over upwards of 40 cars a month. He didn't have what we were looking for on the day, but in conversation with him he said when asked by friends and family for recommendations as to what brand to buy, he always recommends KIA as he has fewest problems with them.

[PistonSmegs]

We've had a Toyota since new, coming up to 4.5 years and it sees some serious abuse, It's been 100% reliable.
It's impressed me so much in fact, I'm considering buying from Toyota again.

[Liquid Tuna]

5 USA said:

If you want a properly engineered and reliable car buy,

a) An American car, or
b) A car with a succesful track record in the North American market.

I bought a Gen III Subaru Legacy for this specific reason. The car was Japanese and made for the North American market.

[Legend83]

Honda probably.

Toyota and Nissan hot on their heels.

Lexus definitely.

Whenever I drive around I look at all the old cars on the road and would say a large proportion of them are from the above marques.

[big_boz]

sparkythecat said:

Interestingly, I recently visited a well stocked local used car dealers specialising in 4x4s. I was looking at X-Trails and Freelanders. The dealer has a good reputation locally and turns over upwards of 40 cars a month. He didn't have what we were looking for on the day, but in conversation with him he said when asked by friends and family for recommendations as to what brand to buy, he always recommends KIA as he has fewest problems with them.

The inside of the pre-2010 sorento's Fuel tank delaminates too and gets sucked through the fuel system potentially borking the injectors.

Owners forum is awash with people fraught with issues with every model. Wish i had found it before we ordered the Rio.

[Alex]

Honda.

[300bhp/ton]

Ecosseven said:

Reliability is a key criteria when considering a new daily driver.

Yes, because those several million cars used daily in Britain only hail from one or two car makers...

Seriously though - any, yes any modern mass produced car is more than capable of daily duties.

[MGJohn]

FACT!

There are far more unreliable car users and drivers than there are unreliable cars.

AA/RAC and the call out stats of the rescue services confirm this time and again.

FACT!

Rovers and MGs are the most unreliable cars in the known Universe ... except all of mine over many years.

Yeah, I know, I've been lucky.

[big_boz]

To be fair, i ran an ALFA 156 for 40k miles, other than servicing, it was faultless, never skipped a beat and i drove it Italian style. My sister owns it now and has had a further 20k miles of faultless ownership, service items aside.

The few times I/we have bought cars for reliability and ease of ownership (the Kia falling into this category) i have always regretted it, either because it was boring, or because of things going wrong.

I think what i'm saying is buy an Alfa 156!

Edited by big_boz on Thursday 28th March 16:08