The 10 cheapest most reliable used cars listed 'and some more than 10 years old'
More than 60,000 motorists responded to a survey highlighting the second hand vehicles which are cheap - and don't go wrong
Trying to grab a bargain when looking at second hand cars is never as easy as it seems.
Purchasing a car is fraught with pitfalls, with so many things to consider - not least how likely it is to last without breaking down. But the latest findings from the Which? car survey indicate that the most reliable cars all have one thing in common.
A carefully chosen used car can offer high reliability at a fraction of the cost of a new vehicle, which may actually be more prone to issues. The voters spoke loud and clear when answering the survey - don't be afraid to look at cars that are more than a decade old.
Voters listed three vehicles over 10 years old that, according to their owners, didn't suffer a single breakdown in the year covered by the most recent Which? car survey. Buying second-hand is a savvy way to save money, but as a car ages, its treatment by previous owners becomes increasingly vital to its longevity.
Regular servicing, topping up fluids, and careful driving all contribute to a car's long-term reliability, but without a list of known reliable cars, it's hard to know where to start, reports the Express. Using data from the Which? car survey, the consumer group has put together a list of the most reliable 10-15 year old cars currently on the market.
What are the most reliable second hand cars?
Leading the pack for five-star reliability in the 10-15-year category is the Lexus CT. A full hybrid hatchback first introduced in 2011 and discontinued in 2020, the CT offers value for money in a range of ways.
According to the survey respondents, models of this car over 10 years old experienced zero breakdowns in the preceding 12 months, and only 13% of owners reported any type of fault. When problems did occur, these cars spent just over a day off the road for repairs on average, significantly less than the average of 4.5 days for cars of this age.
The Lexus CT can be snapped up second-hand for a price range of £5,000 to £10,000. Despite some complaints about limited rear legroom and our review highlighting issues with the boot and infotainment system, the overall feedback from owners was overwhelmingly positive. A third of owners specifically commended the car's reliability, while another third were enthusiastic about its comfort.
Not far behind is the convertible Mazda MX5 – available from 2005 to 2015 – which also had zero reported breakdowns, followed by the Lexus RX Hybrid.
Other older models that have shown reliability include the Honda Jazz (2008-15), Skoda CitiGo (2012-19) and, surprisingly considering its usual performance in the Which? survey, a BMW in the form of the X1 (2009-15).
To read the full report click here.
Which? top 10 reliable cars based on owner fault reports
LEXUS CT HATCHBACK HYBRID (2011 to 2020)
MAZDA MX-5 CONVERTIBLE (2005 to 2015)
LEXUS RX HYBRID (2009 to 2015)
HONDA JAZZ HATCHBACK (2008 to 2015)
SKODA CITIGO HATCHBACK (2012 to 2019)
BMW X1 (2009 to 2015)
SUZUKI SWIFT HATCHBACK (2010 to 2016)
TOYOTA YARIS HATCHBACK (2011 to 2020)
SUZUKI ALTO HATCHBACK (2009 to 2014)
TOYOTA AURIS HATCHBACK (2012 to 2019)
Table notes: Breakdowns, time off road and faults (weighted for severity of each fault) all impact the overall reliability rating for each car. Data based on an online survey of 60,448 drivers who told us about the 71,002 cars they owned, conducted April 2024 to June 2024.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Mercedes sees itself as 'sounding board' in tariff talks, CEO tells newspaper
BERLIN, June 5 (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz ( opens new tab views itself as a "sounding board" that contributes ideas in tariff negotiations between the European Union and the United States, CEO Ola Kaellenius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper on Thursday. "As a company, we hold talks with political decision-makers – in the EU as well as in China and the US," said Kaellenius. "However, negotiations take place at EU level because trade policy falls within the EU's remit. We are available as a sounding board, contributing ideas and presenting scenarios showing how certain decisions would affect us," he added. Mercedes-Benz, as well as BMW ( opens new tab and Volkswagen , are in talks with Washington over a possible import tariff deal, sources told Reuters late last month. Under one proposal on the table, German carmakers would get credits for cars they export from the United States, which could then be deducted from tariffs, one of the sources said. Kaellenius' interview was published hours before Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will hold his first face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump as Europe seeks to stave off looming U.S. tariffs.
The Independent
9 hours ago
- The Independent
Mini John Cooper Works Electric review: Worth the premium?
The John Cooper name and his famous signature has adorned Minis for over six decades, but this is the first time that we've seen a properly fettled electric Mini John Cooper Works model. As with the rest of the new Mini Cooper range, there are petrol and electric versions, but it's the EV we're focusing on in a world where electric hot hatchbacks seem to be taking off. An electric Peugeot 208 GTi is coming soon and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has received huge acclaim, while Tesla Performance models do what the name suggests – they go very quickly indeed. Mini hasn't focused entirely on performance with the John Cooper Works Electric. A 0-62mph time of 5.9 seconds is fast by old-school hot hatch measures, but nothing special when it comes to EVs. In fact, the standard Mini Cooper Electric SE will do the same sprint in 6.7 seconds. And therein lies the problem that John Cooper Works is facing – it just doesn't offer that much more for the extra £5,550 (minimum) outlay. There are a few fun bits, like the boost button on the steering wheel that ups the power to an impressive 255bhp, but the sense of performance for the JCW Electric over a Cooper SE just isn't enough. Tweaks to the suspension have made the car even more grippy, but have also made the ride rock hard. And while the optimised aerodynamics look great, you have the alternative option of adding the John Cooper Works pack to the Cooper SE for a Mini that's not quite as aggressive looking but still very much looks the part. If the job of the John Cooper Works Electric is to remind you how good the standard Minis are, then job done. You can swerve the JCW Electric and still be smiling loads in any other Mini. How we tested We spent a few hours enjoying the Mini John Cooper Works Electric around Cotswold lanes, testing the performance and handling, but also how easy it would be to live with. All our reviews include real-world assessments looking at everything from the tech to the space and practicality. Mini John Cooper Works Electric: £35,455, Independent rating: 6/10 Mini John Cooper Works Electric specs Price range: £35,455 Battery size: 54.2kWh Maximum claimed range: 251 miles Miles per kWh: 4.4 Maximum charging rate: 95kW Battery, range, charging, performance and drive Mini has stuck with the 52kWh battery for the John Cooper Works Electric, which means a maximum claimed range of 250 miles – amazingly three miles more than a Cooper SE with the same battery, but less power. Fast charging is at the same speed as the Cooper SE at an unremarkable 95kW, meaning a 10 to 80 per cent charge would take around half an hour. You'll need to flick the boost button on the steering wheel to get the fastest 0-62mph time, which at 5.9 seconds is far from remarkable these days. With grippy tyres on standard 18in wheels and beefed-up suspension, the traditional go-kart feeling is ever-present, more so than on the Cooper SE. That's a blessing and a curse, upping the fun factor but dragging down ride quality. Put simply, it's too firm to be comfortable. There's no extra excitement from the noise the John Cooper Works Electric makes either. The standard synthesised noises – there are 39 so-called 'earscapes' in the car – are the same as before. They're great fun, especially in go-kart mode, which is entered via a rocker switch on the dash and a 'woo-hoo' sound effect. But there are no extra whooshes, pops or bangs to be heard in the JCW over the standard Coopers. The styling is beefed-up, though, with new spoilers at the front, sides and rear, with plenty of gloss black and John Cooper Works logos, plus splashes of red dotted around including on the brake callipers. Interior, practicality and boot space The cabin has had a John Cooper Works makeover, too, with the black and red theme going across the knitted surface on the dashboard and on the synthetic leather seats. At night you'll notice the ambient lighting on the headlining, too. Otherwise, it's standard Mini fare, which means excellent BMW build quality and more space than you might imagine. The Cooper is strictly three-doors these days, the five-door Aceman is there with the same batteries and motors for a very similar driving experience. It also gets a new John Cooper Works Aceman model. Access to the rear seats is okay through the long front doors, and the small 210 litre boot falls into the 'just big enough to be useful' category. Mini has thought hard about little practicalities. There's a long tray with useful dividers that sits between the front seats, plus usefully large door bins in the front doors. Technology, stereo and infotainment The star of the latest Mini range's tech is the 9.45in circular OLED screen that sits – as it always has in a Mini – in the centre of the dash. It's a lovely screen that's as responsive as it is crisp, and the interface is usable with 'hey Mini' voice control, too. Beneath the screen are rockers and buttons to control starting the car, selecting one of seven driver modes (Vivid, Core, Green, Timeless, Balance, Go Kart and Personal) and for gear selection. Everything else is on the touchscreen, although there are also steering-wheel mounted controls and a programmable fast button. There are a couple of pricey option packs, although they do pile on the kit nicely, that you'll have to plunder to get some of the best tech. That includes the head-up display and the digital key, which converts your smartphone into a car key. Standard are wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – although they only display in a square in the screen, not across the whole circle – and there's wireless phone charging, too. A Harman Kardon audio system provides decent sounds, while clever and usable self-parking sits alongside a host of other driver assistance features. Prices and running costs The good news is that the Mini John Cooper Works Electric is efficient to keep running with a decent claim of 4.4 miles per kWh. The bad news is that unless you really want the most focused electric Mini to drive, we wouldn't pay the £5,550 extra over the already fun-to-drive Cooper SE. As with any Mini, the list price is only the starting price – in this case £35,455. Add in some of the options packs, stripes and different trims and you'll soon end up at the £40,000 mark. The Mini's quality and fun make it worth considering, but we'd stick with a lesser Mini that's just as much fun and save a bit of cash. Mini John Cooper Works Electric rivals FAQs What should I consider before buying one? Consider if the modest performance gain and firmer ride over the standard Mini Cooper SE justify the significant extra cost, and be mindful that the most desirable tech comes in pricey option packs. How long does it take to charge? Fast charging matches the Cooper SE's 95kW, taking about half an hour to go from 10 per cent to 80 per cent. How much does it cost - is it worth it? The starting price for a Mini is £35,455. Including options packs, stripes, and different trims can increase the cost to approximately £40,000. There's a standard three-year warranty, plus eight years' cover for the battery Why trust us Our team of motoring experts have decades of experience driving, reviewing and reporting on the latest EV cars, and our verdicts are reached with every kind of driver in mind. We thoroughly test drive every car we recommend, so you can be sure our verdicts are honest, unbiased and authentic. The verdict: Mini John Cooper Works Electric The biggest problem with the John Cooper Works Electric is that every other Mini is just as fun to drive. The extra cash the JCW Electric costs gets you a bit more performance and a bit more focus, but the performance and driving benefits just aren't enough, while the ride is even stiffer than before. I'd stick with a standard electric Cooper SE with a few JCW extras added on.
Auto Car
19 hours ago
- Auto Car
A four-seat sports coupé for just £40k… in 2025?! New BMW 2 Series expertly defends a dying segment
We've yet to sample the six-cylinder, which is a shame. But… while straight sixes are inherently smoother, punchier and more balanced than four-bangers, and they sound good too – and all of this should matter in a BMW – the 230i's four-cylinder is smooth, torquey, powerful and sounds pretty good, if a bit muffled. Boot it coming out of a T-junction and there's enough power to raise the traction control from its slumber and the 0-62mph scamper is over and done in less than six seconds, which is plenty, really, if you're not after a serious sports car. In-gear acceleration is strong, there's no hugely notable drop-off of pace while you're doing legal speeds and the 295lb of torque is measured out neatly, although it does feel a bit like it's running out of puff by 6000rpm. The shift paddles are also super quick to respond, even though they are small and feel plasticky. Every 2 Series Coupé gets the excellent eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox, but you could easily be fooled into thinking it was a dual-clutch transmission, given the speed of the changes, the way it responds to the paddles and how it occasionally thumps through a less than smooth shift. What's more, the engine response shows no sign of any slip from the torque converter. Like all modern BMWs, the 2 Series lets the driver configure various aspects of the way it drives. Eco Pro dulls all the responses, while Normal is, as the name suggests, fairly normal, except that the gearbox calibration can feel slightly too optimised for the WLTP cycle, coming at the detriment of refinement as it lugs the engine. Sport mode makes it more responsive, without hanging on to gears for too long like it will when you knock the gearlever into its own Sport mode. Sport also makes the throttle response keener, dials up some synthetic engine sound, adds weight to the steering and makes the brakes touchier. All of those aspects can be turned back down in Sport Individual, except for the grabby brakes. That's frustrating, because the gearbox is at its best in Sport and the synthetic engine noise actually adds to the experience, making the car sound neither like an in-line four nor a straight six, but somewhat like an old Ford V4 in a fruity tune. Page 2 BMW devotees will be well used to the extra-glitzy materials and the technological glare of the firm's current interior design philosophy. The days when the ambient quality and luxury of Munich's cabin treatments were deliberately understated are long gone. Some time ago, the firm decided it needed to take on both Audi and Mercedes in that respect, and it conjured driving environments of readily apparent richness and lavishness. Pretty soon after that, the G20-generation 3 Series got an interior full of boldly hexagonal chrome and high-tech, widescreen wizardry – and that's a treatment the 4 Series now inherits. It's an interior in which it's very easy to make yourself comfortable over long distances. It feels expensively hewn and appointed and is broadly easy to interact with and to configure to your liking. The driving position is only marginally lower and more snug than that of a 3 Series. You wouldn't call it sports car low, but then, with ease of access and long-range visibility in mind, neither should it be. The control layout is excellent, with very generous adjustment of the steering column available. Slightly wide A-pillars impinge on forward visibility to an extent, but only as is broadly common among modern cars. Instrumentation is all digital, with the rev counter and speedometer displayed around the lateral extremes of an octagonal binnacle screen. The display themes change with the selected driving mode, but few are as easily readable as they ought to be and none of them provides a simple pairing of circular dials that could be read so easily at a glance. In cars with BMW's optional head-up display, of course, you can never claim to be ill-informed of your road or engine speed, but on behalf of those who like to pare down and simplify what the car is telling you in order to make longer trips less tiring, BMW could still do better. The 4 Series' rear seats are predictably tricky things in which to berth. You'll need to be under 6ft tall to find enough head room, although leg room is a little less meanly provided. Overall, though, the 4 Series' back-seat accommodation is reasonable enough for occasional use. The ability to fold the rear seatbacks, split 40/20/40, is a welcome boost to carrying flexibility, meanwhile, and boot space is good. Slightly more noticeable than the exterior visual tweaks are the changes inside for 2024, where sports seats are now standard fitment, the steering wheel is flat-bottomed and the restyled air vents are now adjusted with neat, thimble-shaped knobs that are sensibly placed and nice to twiddle. The 4 Series was only recently a recipient of a new twin-screen wraparound display that dominates the dashboard, which would be awful news for analogue apologists were the most important in-car controls not still housed in easy-access clusters of physical buttons in the centre console. The interface now runs the latest generation of BMW's iDrive platform, which is much the same as before – graphically appealing and agreeably responsive – only now with improved menu structures that aim to give you "the right information in the right place". The results are not transformative: this remains a highly competent and functional system, but one that just requires a touch too much eye time on the move, with a dazzling array of small and vaguely illustrated icons on the home page and too much responsibility over the climate control and so on. Happily, the trademark rotary controller remains, and there's a new fixed row of widgets on the right-hand side that allow control over various functions without delving into sub-menus. Swings and roundabouts. The inbuilt sat-nav also gets an optional augmented reality boost, with a new function that superimposes directional arrows, parking tips and the like over an animated livestream of your forward view. A neat party trick, but of limited use if you're of the Waze or Google Maps persuasion. Page 3 No one really buys a BMW for the cabin ambience. Munich itself would probably concede that, on outright material substance in most executive classes, Mercedes continues to set the standard. Meanwhile, on business-smart style, Audi leads the way. But while it's a comfortable, solid and wholly pleasant place in which to spend time, the BMW 4 Series' cockpit is entirely predictable and perhaps a missed opportunity to narrow either of those notional gaps. What you'll find here is 95 percent stock 3 Series componentry. In a 3 Series coupé you might forgive that, but in a 4 Series – just as we reported of the 6 Series – you can't help feeling short-changed by the lack of differentiation. M Sport-spec cars get a rather lovely, pleasingly compact M Sport steering wheel, for example, but that was easily the most special ingredient in the entire cabin. Which, for a £32k-plus luxury coupé, isn't saying much. One car we tested had black leather with black trim accents; there are more colourful treatments, but we're not sure any of them would be bright enough to excuse BMW totally, whether it has transgressed via laziness, pragmatism or simple lack of ambition. BMW is nothing if not thorough, though. The control ergonomics are excellent, the instruments are clear and the iDrive menu is foolproof. The latter is made easier to use by a touchpad found on the top of the rotary selector, which you can use to trace alphanumerical inputs for the telephone and navigation systems. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, only lacking for good lumbar support on our test car. The rear ones are accessible enough and offer decent levels of accommodation; you wouldn't choose to put a large passenger in one for long, but if you had to, he'd be more comfortable than in the back of an A5 and little less so than in a Mercedes E-Class coupé. There are two trim levels to choose from - Sport and M Sport, while those wanting an M4 get a bespoke spec. The entry-level Sport trim equips the 4 Series with 18in alloy wheels, gloss black exterior trim, dual chrome exhausts, LED head, rear and fog lights and parking sensors as standard on the outside. Inside the 4 Series gets dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, a Dakota leather upholstery, interior ambient LED lighting and BMW's brilliant iDrive infotainment system complete with sat nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, BMW's online services and a 6.5in screen. Upgrading to M Sport adds an aggressive bodykit, sports suspension and interior touches such as, door sills and an M Sport steering wheel, alongside BMW's Professional Media pack. Opt for the monstrous M4 then you have two core trims to choose from currently - standard and Competition Pack. The regular M4 gets 19in alloy wheels, active differential, adaptive suspension, quad-exhaust, an 8.8in iDrive display, cruise control, wireless charging dock and automatic lights and wipers as standard. Opt for the competition pack to your M4 and you get 20in alloys, a loudspeaker system, a tweaked adaptive suspension set-up with specific springs, dampers and anti-roll bars and reconfigured active differential, driving modes and traction control. T he limited edition hardcore M4 GTS gets adaptive LED headlights, ceramic braking, a GTS coilover suspension, a leather and Alcantara upholstery, a M-division tuned dual-clutch gearbox and three point seat belts. Page 4
