A recent study run by independent automotive warranty specialist, Warranty Direct, looked at more than 450,000 vehicles, across 33 manufacturers, from the UK and the USA for reported mechanical failures. It found Mazda to be the most reliable car brand with almost 92% of its cars aged between 3 and 9 years to have suffered no mechanical failures of any type. The Japanese carmaker achieved a failure rate of just 8.04% to come out on top of a field where only two non-Asian based manufacturers made it into the top ten.

Below is a list of the top ten companies that had the lowest number of mechanical failures reported by policy holders for every 100 vehicles aged between three and nine years old. Interestingly, Kia proved more reliable than all the German brands and even financially stricken Mitsubishi reached a very respectable fourth.

1. Mazda 8.04

2. Honda 8.90

3. Toyota 15.78

4. Mitsubishi 17.04

5. Kia 17.39

6. Subaru 18.46

7. Nissan 18.86

8. Lexus 20.05

9. Mini 21.90

10. Citroën 25.98

At the other end of the scale, SUV manufacturers Jeep and Range Rover came out on the bottom of the ‘World’ reliability study. Worst still, a whopping 46% of large American SUVs recorded at least one mechanical failure during a given twelve-month period.

Follow the jump to see how all 33 manufacturers rated.

Table to illustrate the reliability ratings of 450,000 vehicles by manufacturer:

Manufacturer / Incidence Rate %

1 Mazda 8.04%

2 Honda 8.90%

3 Toyota 15.78%

4 Mitsubishi 17.04%

5 Kia 17.39%

6 Subaru 18.46%

7 Nissan 18.86%

8 Lexus 20.05%

9 Mini 21.90%

10 Citroen 25.98%

11 Daewoo 26.30%

12 Hyundai 26.36%

13 Peugeot 26.59%

14 Ford 26.76%

15 Suzuki 27.20%

16 Porsche 27.48%

17 Fiat 28.49%

18 BMW 28.64%

19 Vauxhall 28.77%

20 Mercedes 29.90%

21 Rover 30.12%

22 Volvo 31.28%

23 Volkswagen 31.44%

24 Jaguar 32.05%

25 Skoda 32.12%

26 Chrysler 34.90%

27 Audi 36.74%

28 Seat 36.87%

29 Renault 36.87%

30 Alfa Romeo 39.13%

31 Saab 41.59%

32 Land Rover 44.21%

33 Jeep 46.36%

Via: AutoMotoPortal