Japanese cars shift up a gear

Japanese cars have always been reliable, but they're getting even more dependable, says Which? Car - apart from the Honda Civic (which is actually made in the UK).

In the UK's biggest car reliability survey, Japanese carmakers have swept the board, taking the top seven spots in this year's brand reliability table. Honda is top of the chart with a reliability index rating of 85 per cent, followed by Toyota (84 per cent), Daihatsu (83 per cent), Lexus (83 per cent), Mazda (83 per cent), Subaru (83 per cent) and Suzuki (83 per cent).

However, the Swindon-made Honda Civic (post-2006) falls well short of the brand's usual reliability standards. It languishes in joint-bottom spot, on 82 per cent, in the medium cars table (along with the Citroën C4). Honda's Japan-built Civic Hybrid, on the other hand, tops the large car chart with a reliability score of 95 per cent.

It's not great news for British car manufacturers either: Land Rover's reliability is very poor - joint bottom of the table (with the American brands Chrysler/Dodge) with a disappointing 67 per cent; Vauxhall is poor (75 per cent), while Jaguar (78 per cent) and Mini (78 per cent) are just average.

Contrary to popular belief, the expensive German marques of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all have average reliability scores, while Volkswagen is rated as poor. The popular Volkswagen Passat (post-2005) has the joint-lowest reliability score (with the Citroën C5) - 80 per cent - in the large cars category.

Richard Headland, Editor, Which? Car, says: "Japan continues to show the rest of the world how to make consistently reliable cars, although the new Honda Civic shows they're not infallible. Some British-built cars, on the other hand, don't exactly run like clockwork. Land Rover, in particular, needs to raise its game."