For years they have been associated with rock-solid reliability, but the reputations of two of Germany's most famous car brands were dented by a Consumers' Association survey yesterday.
Volkswagen crashed into the poor category of the reliability survey while two other VW-owned companies, Seat and Audi, slipped from good to average. The Audi TT, seen as one of the most stylish new models of recent years, received one of the lowest scores for reliability in years.
Another German car company, Mercedes-Benz, slipped two categories, from best to average, in reliability. No German carmaker managed to make it into either the best or good categories of the survey, published by the association's magazine Which?.
BMW at least held its own, maintaining its place in the average category, where it has been since the 1999 survey.
Dominating the top reliability places for both manufacturers and individual car models were the Japanese, with Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all in the best category of maker-reliability. Based on break down rates over the past 12 months of cars up to two years old the most reliable were the Honda Accord, Honda Jazz, Mazda 323, Nissan Almera Tino, Nissan X-Trail, Smart car, and the Toyota Celica.
At the other end of the reliability table the least-reliable model apart from the Audi TT was the Ford Galaxy, followed by the Citroën C3, the Mercedes E-class, and the Saab 9-3. The survey found that about one in 20 new cars was likely to have broken down in the past year.
Which? editor Helen Parker said: "Brands are built on a promise, for example that they will deliver consistently a certain level of quality or value. If customers see through the promise or find it's been broken, it can be the worst possible news for a brand.
"Our survey reveals the first robust evidence of bad news for some of the biggest car brands. Of course, there is still much else that owners value in these cars, but when 86% of people say reliability is the most important factor when choosing a new car, these results should make manufacturers take notice."
Reliability ratings were based on replies by nearly 33,000 Which? readers.
