Japanese car manufacturer Honda has come out on top of a Europe-wide poll of motorists to find out which brand is considered the most reliable.
The Spanish-based Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) asked more than 30,000 drivers across the Continent for their opinions. Honda scored 93 out of 100 for reliability and almost eight in 10 drivers said they would recommend the marque to other motorists, based on issues including reliability, fuel costs and purchase price.
Studies of driver opinions and intentions are useful to motor businesses when deciding on what stock to carry in the future, and can give insights to what makes a buyer opt for a particular car. If you are using market analysis to decide on your dealership stocking levels, make sure you update your motor trade insurance to take into account changes to the value of vehicles you have on site.
The OCU researchers asked drivers about breakdowns over the last 12 months and found one in three had suffered one, while 16 per cent had a breakdown issue while driving. The cars that were least likely to need repairs were the Honda Jazz 1.4, then the Toyota Prius 1.8 M and the Renault Clio 1.1.
However, the Ford Focus 1.6 D came bottom of the list, and the brands that were most likely to breakdown, according to the study, were Smart, Land Rover and Alfa Romeo.
The most common reason for breakdowns was the vehicle’s electrical systems, followed by brake problems and engine electronics.
Just over half (52 per cent) of those quizzed said they went to authorised dealers when they needed repairs but the study found that independent garages could reduce the cost of a service by up to half.
The most expensive brand for repairs came out as Mercedes, while Nissan was the cheapest.
