2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet

2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet

In Germany, keeping your car on the road means it has to pass an exhaustive roadworthiness test conducted by the Technischer Überwachungsverein, or TÜV for short.

The test is designed to spot defects or reliability issues in older cars, and is mandated on any vehicle three years or older and is conducted every two years hence for the life of the car.

Fail to score the inspection green-light and your car may end up off the road for good. Not surprisingly, consumers and automakers alike eagerly await the TÜV’s annual report to see which cars prove to be the most reliable over time.

Turns out the Porsche 911 is one of the most trouble-free cars. No matter whether it’s seven, nine or eleven years old, in the latest TÜV report, the sports car icon was again the model with the fewest defects among all vehicles in its age group. The same as the year before, in each of the general technical inspections, the TÜV inspectors found the least grounds for complaint.

Overall, the 911, Boxster and Cayman models occupied five of the ten best rankings across all age groups, which is once again impressive proof of the Zuffenhausen sports cars’ long term quality and ability to retain their value. Of course, it could also mean that Porsche owners look after their cars a little more than the average vehicle owner.

The report is based on data from approximately eight million general technical inspections between July 2010 and June 2011. It also found that almost 18 percent of seven year old vehicles, a good 22 percent of nine year old vehicles and almost 27 percent of all eleven year old vehicles exhibited such serious defects that they initially failed the test and required extensive repairs to pass it the second time ‘round.

As for the newest cars in the study, those that are just three years old, the Toyota Prius came out on top. The best ranking Porsche here was the Boxster and Cayman models, which were found to be the fourth most reliable.

Hit the next page to see the top ten in lists for the most reliable vehicles that are three years old, and those that are 10 to 11 years old.

2010 Toyota Prius

2010 Toyota Prius


TÜV-Report 2011: 3 year old cars

Rank - Complaints (percent)
1) Toyota Prius - 1.9 percent
2) Toyota Auris - 2.6 percent
3) Mazda Mazda2 - 2.6 percent
4) Porsche Boxster and Cayman - 2.8 percent
5) Volkswagen Golf Plus- 2.8 percent
6) Ford Fusion - 3.0 percent
7) Toyota Corolla Verso - 3.1 percent
8) Mazda Mazda3 - 3.2 percent
9) Opel Agila - 3.3 percent
10) Suzuki SX4 - 3.3 percent

TÜV-Report 2011: 10-11 year old cars

Rank - Complaints (percent)
1) Porsche 911 - 9.5 percent
2) Toyota RAV4 - 10 percent
3) Toyota Yaris - 16.8 percent
4) Toyota Avensis - 17.6 percent
5) Mazda MX-5 - 17.9 percent
6) Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class - 18.1 percent
7) Toyota Corolla - 18.1 percent
8) Suzuki Vitara - 18.4 percent
9) Mercedes-Benz S-Class - 20.7 percent
10) Honda Accord - 21 percent