Civic, Transit tops for fleet reliability

Honda's Civic is the most reliable fleet car, according to a British survey.

British trade publication Fleet News has surveyed contract hire and leasing companies in order to establish which cars and vans have the best reliability records; the study covers fleets representing over a million vehicles.

Where cars are concerned, Japanese and German models – perhaps predictably – dominate.

In fact, all of the ten most reliable cars are from German or Japanese-owned groups, although the Mini (8) and Toyota Avensis (9) are actually built in the UK – and future Honda Jazzes (3) will be.

Most reliable car

1.Honda Civic

2.BMW 3 Series

3.Honda Jazz

4.Honda Accord

5.BMW 5 Series

6.Audi A4

7.Mercedes Benz C-Class

8.Mini

9.Toyota Avensis

10.Volkswagen Golf

Among vans, though, the picture is rather different. The Vauxhall Astravan (2) is built in the UK – as are many Ford Transits (1) – although these days, lots Transits are made in Turkey, alongside the smaller Transit Connect (3). Mercedes' Sprinter – popular among van-drivers because of its zippy performance – was the fourth most reliable van, according to the survey.

Most reliable van:

1.Ford Transit

2.Vauxhall Astravan

3.Ford Transit Connect

4.Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

5.Volkswagen Transporter

- THE INDEPENDENT