5 of the best car manufacturers

Five of the most trusted car manufacturers in the UK

TL;DR: Which car manufacturers are the most reliable in the UK?

According to the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, Honda, MINI, Toyota, BMW, and Kia are among the most dependable brands on UK roads.

All five manufacturers on this list sit in the top 10, with Honda leading the chart at 96.6%, and Kia rounding out the group at 94.4%. Between them, they cover everything from affordable city cars to premium saloons.

And all five have the survey data to back up their credentials.

Leasing a car is one thing. Trusting the brand behind it is another

With more manufacturers than ever competing for space on UK roads – and the electric transition throwing up new names alongside familiar ones – knowing which brands have genuinely earned their reliability credentials matters.

Especially if you’re leasing, where you’re committing to a brand-new car for two to five years, and want the confidence that it’ll behave itself throughout.

The What Car? Reliability Survey is one of the most comprehensive measures of manufacturer dependability available in the UK. Based on the experiences of nearly 30,000 owners of cars made in the last five years, it scores brands not just on fault rates, but on how much repairs cost and how long they kept drivers off the road.

The results show a clear divide.

The best brands resolve the majority of issues quickly, cover the cost of repairs, and keep fault rates impressively low. The worst leave drivers waiting weeks, and in some cases, facing bills of over £1,500.

Here, we’ve picked five of the highest-rated manufacturers from the latest survey.

Brands that have proven, through thousands of real-world ownership experiences, that they’re worth your trust.

Honda

When it comes to reliability, Honda doesn’t just talk the talk.

In the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, the Japanese manufacturer claimed the top spot with an impressive reliability rating of 96.6% - its first time topping the leaderboard in seven years.

What makes that result particularly convincing is the consistency across the range.

All five Honda models included in the survey had a very low fault rate, with every single faulty car fixed for free by the manufacturer. More than half of all issues were resolved within a day, and 75% of affected vehicles were back on the road within a week.

The standout performer was the Honda HR-V, which scored 97.5%, with fan-favourite the Honda Civic close behind on 97.3%.

Honda has built its reputation over decades on the principle that a car should just work, and work well, for a long time.

Its hybrid lineup, which now spans the Jazz, Civic, HR-V and CR-V, has only strengthened that story, combining long-term durability with the sort of fuel efficiency that makes a car lease even more cost-effective.

If you’re looking for your next lease, reliability carries more weight than you might expect.

After all, a car that spends time in the workshop is a car you’re still paying monthly for. Which is why Honda’s survey-topping performance makes it one of the most reassuring choices on the market.

MINI

MINI may be one of the smaller names on this list, but its reliability credentials are anything but.

The British brand – owned by BMW since 2000 – claimed second place in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey with a rating of 96.4%, just a hair’s breadth behind Honda at the top.

What stands out is how low MINI’s fault rate is.

Only 11% of MINI vehicles included in the survey experienced any issues at all, and every single one of those was fixed for free by the manufacturer. The star of the show was the MINI Hatchback, followed by the Countryman, and the MINI Electric impressed in the electric car class.

It’s worth noting that this level of dependability is a modern MINI story.

The third-generation hatchback, launched in 2014, marked a significant turning point for the brand. If you’re leasing a current-generation model, you’re getting a car that’s been through that quality evaluation and come out the other side.

MINI offers something a little different from the rest of this list.

With a MINI lease, you get a car with genuine character, strong kerb appeal, and a reliability record that firmly backs up the badge.

Toyota

If reliability had a founding father, Toyota would have a strong claim to the title.

The Japanese manufacturer has spent decades building a reputation for engineering that lasts, and the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey backs that up.

Toyota placed fourth overall with a reliability rating of 95.2%, with a fault rate of just 19% across its range, and 88% of all repairs carried out for free by the manufacturer.

The standout result belongs to the Toyota GR Yaris, which achieved a perfect 100% reliability rating. The Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) wasn’t far behind at 99.2%, and the Corolla came in at 96.5%.

Much of Toyota’s reliability story is bound up in its hybrid technology.

The brand launched the first mass-produced hybrid with the original Prius back in 1997, and nearly three decades of refinement shows in the brand’s current lineup.

Its hybrid powertrain is now one of the most proven in the industry, which matters if you’re after an efficient, low-maintenance motor, and don’t want to worry about what’s going on under the bonnet.

Toyota’s range covers a huge amount of ground, from the compact Aygo X and Yaris through to the Corolla, C-HR and RAV4, giving you a reliable lease option at almost every price point and body style.

BMW

Premium car brands and reliability don’t always go hand in hand – but BMW is the exception that proves the rule.

Sixth place in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey with a rating of 94.6% makes BMW the highest-placed premium manufacturer in the entire chart, sitting a full 4% above rivals Audi and Mercedes.

The breadth of strong performers across the BMW range is what stands out.

The BMW i3 and i4 were the best-rated electric cars in the survey, scoring 97.4% and 96.8% respectively.

Petrol versions of the BMW 3 Series ranked second best in the executive car class, the BMW X5 was the second highest scoring luxury vehicle, and the BMW 4 Series Coupé and Convertible took second place in the sports car category. 

Five models with exemplary scores across five different segments? Consistency is the name of the BMW game.

If a luxury lease is what you’re after, the reliability data points in one direction.

Kia

Kia has come a long way.

The South Korean manufacturer that once sat in the budget corner of the market has quietly become one of the most dependable automotive brands, and the 2025 Reliability Survey makes that case convincingly.

Eighth place overall with a rating of 94.4% represents a significant climb from eleventh the previous year, driven in large part by the performance of Kia’s newest models.

The Kia EV3 small electric SUV achieved a perfect 100% reliability rating. The latest Kia Niro PHEV wasn’t far behind at 99%, and the Ceed family hatchback achieved an impressive 98.8%. Overall, 19% of Kia models reported a fault, but 98% of repairs were covered by the manufacturer.

Then there’s the warranty.

Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty is one of the most generous offered by any mainstream manufacturer, and it means that for the entire duration of your lease, you’ll be covered.

What makes Kia’s reliability story compelling is the breadth of it.

It’s not one strong model carrying the brand. It’s a range that runs from affordable city cars like the Picanto through to the EV3, EV6 and EV9, with strong scores across the board.

Practical, well-equipped, and now genuinely dependable – Kia has earned its place on this list.

The road ahead

Reliability isn’t the most glamorous thing to shop for in a car.

But when you’re leasing, and committing to monthly payments for two to five years, it’s one of the most important.

What the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey shows is that brands at the top of the chart aren’t there by accident. You’ve got Honda’s near-flawless fault record. MINI’s remarkably low issue rate. Toyota’s hybrid engineering, honed over nearly three decades. BMW’s position as the only premium brand in the top 10.

Then there’s Kia’s seven-year warranty and 98% manufacturer repair rate.

For lease drivers in particular, a reliable car is a stress-free car. No unexpected time off the road. No chasing dealers for repairs. Just a car that does what it’s meant to do, for as long as you need it to.

Whether you’re after a compact city car, a family SUV, or a premium saloon, all five manufacturers on this list offer something to consider.

And the confidence that whatever you choose, it’s been built to last.