Owning the most reliable SUV or most reliable car in 2019 can give you the best chance of mitigating any potential headaches with ownership. While even the most strident and meticulously crafted vehicles sometimes experience a rare fault, the frequency of these occurences is diminishing significantly compared to the bad old days.
As we discussed in our Top 10 New Car checklist, quality surveys such as J.D. Power and Canstar Blue– where the data for this Top10 was sourced from- can reduce the potential for a disastrous ownership experience, even if it doesn’t guarantee this. You can also find the American J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction survey here, which is also a useful resource, as well as our previous list for last year.
Suzuki
Japanese small car brand Suzuki moves further up the list this year, with an impressively trouble-free range of vehicles. Whether you pick the diminutive Ignis micro-SUV, the Vitara or the very fun Swift Sport, Suzuki has made a real name for themselves by providing mostly fault-free motoring, even if some of the plastic materials used are a bit Fisher Price at times.
Honda
While Honda did arguably lose their status as the “Japanese BMW” in terms of driving pleasure, it seems they are making their way back up to the top in this regard thanks to cars like the Civic Type R. One area where Honda never lost their prowess is solid engineering and build quality.
Hyundai
Hyundai has all but completely exorcised the demons of the Excel era, with a range of thoroguly engineer cars that are great value, fun to drive and have a generous warranty package. Cars like the new Santa Fe and i30 prove that the brand is a seriously competitive player that rivals can’t even think about ignoring.
Kia
Similarly, Hyundai’s sister-brand, Kia enjoys a high degree of customer satisfaction, with all the positive attirbutes of Hyundai, plus a bigger, 7 year warranty and roadside assistance package. A major grower in the Australian market and it’s not hard to see why.
Mazda
Hiroshima’s own car brand has really established itself as a maker of cutting-edge, fun-to-drive cars, with meticulous engineering and great practicality.
Mercedes-Benz
The three-pointed star arguably lost their way for a while, but you can’t argue with the results here. Customer satisfaction is the highest of the German premium brands for this survey.
Toyota
Maybe a littler lower down this list than you might expect, but still an admirable result, proving that Toyota continues to be inextricably linked to the word “reliability.” They spent decades earning a reputation for bulletproof motoring
Volkswagen
The People’s Car brand has had a tumultuous decade, not only with Dieselgate, but some customer issues related to dual-clutch gearboxes and diesel engines. Their presence on this list certainly indicates they have lifted their game in the reliability department, with an appreciably higher level of customer satisfaction than in recent years.
Audi
It’s not just Volkswagen that has improved, but their Ingolstadt-based luxury offshoot, Audi has also found its way into the top 10 here. Well done, Audi!
BMW
Although Munich’s finest would no doubt prefer to be ahead of Mercedes-Benz and Audi here, it scrapes into the top 10, which is nonetheless still a vote of confidence by consumers of the blue and white roundel.