KEY POINTS:
BMW has for the first time broken the worldwide dominance Japanese carmakers have had on reliability surveys.
The German company's 3-Series range - its biggest seller - has been voted the most reliable car in a study of Britain's vehicle leasing companies, edging out the Toyota Avensis and Honda Accord.
The poll, which covered the reliability history of 881,000 vehicles this year, also revealed that BMW was the most reliable carmaker overall.
In an historic win over the Japanese, the 3-Series was the top-rated model for reliability.
The Mini and the BMW-Series also made the top 10.
The survey, compiled by industry magazine Fleet News, looked at multi-marque leasing companies.
The cars were assessed according to the number of breakdowns for every 100 of each type of model on each leasing company's fleet.
Points were then awarded according to the number of times that brands or particular models appeared in the tables supplied by the leasing firms.
Points were also awarded also for the position in which they were placed.
BEAMERS ARE SIMPLY THE BEST
Top 10 carmakers
1. BMW
2. Honda
3. Toyota
4. Ford
5. Volkswagen
6. Mercedes-Benz
7. Audi
8. Lexus
9. Mazda
10. Vauxhall (GM)
Top 10 models
1. BMW 3-Series
2. Toyota Avensis
3. Honda Accord
4. Volkswagen Golf
5. Mini
6. Mercedes-Benz C-Class
7. BMW 1-Series
8. Honda Civic
9. Ford Focus
10. Audi A4
