Britain's drivers have had their say about which cars are suffering the most reliability issues in a huge poll that names and shames the recent models with recurring faults and costly repair bills.

The 2025 unreliable car list, researched by What Car?, reflects the thoughts and experiences of 32,493 motorists who responded to the survey.

The data covers 30 brands and 227 different models.

For the survey, owners were asked if their vehicle had suffered any faults in the previous 24 months. 

Those that had gone wrong were rated on how long repairs took and how much these cost, with the overall score expressed as a percentage.

The survey aims to inform buyers about which models they will be able to rely on and those that could cause headaches; reliability is one of the top concerns when it comes to buying a new motor. 

Here are the UK's most unreliable cars and their corresponding scores...

10. Renault Austral (2023-present)

Reliability score: 80.4% 

Compared to the car at the top of this list, the Renault Austral's score of 80.4 per cent doesn't seem too bad. But it's still poor enough to place it in 10th position out of 227 motors reviewed.

Only available in the UK as a hybrid, it was given a mid-life update this year. And while some Renault models are proving their durability, Austral owners have encountered problems.

Drivers reported engine and electrical issues, as well as hybrid battery pack, 12-volt battery and electric motor problems over the last two years.

Some 44 per cent of cars had a glitch. And although two-thirds of the affected cars could still be driven, a third of them were in the workshop for more than a week.

In good news for owners, Renault covered the cost of all remedial work.

9. Hyundai Ioniq Electric (2016-2022)

Reliability score: 80.1% 

The Ioniq Electric was discontinued from showrooms in 2022 but that doesn't unfortunately stop the family car being ranked in the most unreliable list.

The main issue was how long owners had to do without their car while repairs were made.

Nine in ten Ioniqs that went wrong were unable to be driven while work was carried out, and 70 per cent spent more than a week in the workshop.

Comparatively, only 29 per cent of Volkswagen ID.3s - one of its biggest EV hatchback rivals - that went wrong were rendered undriveable.

8. Volkswagen ID.4 (2021-present)

Reliability score: 79.6%

Despite being almost mechanically identical to the Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq, the ID.4 trails its sister EVs for owner reliability by more than 10 percentage points to earn this year's unwanted title of least dependable electric car, based on owner feedback.

And that's because, according to drivers who responded to the survey, it suffers more faults and takes longer to repair. 

In fact, 36 per cent of ID.4 owners had gripes, compared to 30 per cent of Enyaq owners and 29 per cent of Q4 e-Tron owners.

The EV battery and motor were the main issues but on the plus side VW did pay for all the repairs.

7. Audi Q7 (2015-present)

Reliability score: 78.6%

The Q7 has the unfortunate position of being the lowest-scoring luxury SUV in the survey. And, to make matters worse, it's also the poorest-rated seven-seater too.

Owners who responded to the survey told What Car? that 47 per cent of their cars had gone wrong. Against rivals, this compares to just 29 per cent for the Mercedes-Benz GLB and Volvo XC90.

Audi owners were also asked to pay more for the repairs of the Q7 and 29 per cent said their bill was in excess of £1,500. 

While 15 per cent of Q7s were fixed for free, a massive 90 per cent of Volvo XC90s were fixed for free - a huge difference for luxury SUV owners. 

6. Volvo S90 (2016-2023) & Volvo V90 (2016-present)

Reliability score: 76.7%

What Car? has combined the results for Volvo's S90 saloon and V90 estate, with the latter still on sale today while the S90 was pulled from dealers two years ago.

Respondents to the survey highlighted the S90/V90 electrical systems as the pressure point.

Overall 47 per cent of cars went wrong, with infotainment defects accounting for 24 per cent of reported faults and unspecified non-engine electrics making up the another 18 per cent.

The 12-volt battery was also a common problem in these cars, responsible for 12 per cent of issues reported. 

Together, this meant 44 per cent of cars were out of action for more than a week and 28 per cent couldn't be driven.

But Volvo, as you'd expect, covered the cost of the work in a huge 94 per cent of the cases with owners having to cough up £50 or less per fault. 

5. Mercedes C-Class (2021-present)

Reliability score: 76.3% 

The current Mercedes-Benz C-Class seems to be less sturdy than its predecessor: the past 2014 to 2021 generation only had a 23 per cent recorded problem rate while the the new generation has a 43 per cent glitch rate.

Failures were spread across a wide range of areas - from air-con to engine and gearbox and electrics.

Thirty-nine per cent of faults were serious enough to take the car off the road and only 19 per cent of cars were put right in a day or less. Some 38 per cent of C-Class models were in the workshop for more of a week.

But - very positively for customers - all repairs were carried out for free.  

4. Mazda CX-60 (2022-present) 

Reliability score: 76.2%

As a brand, Mazda hasn't quite lived up to its meticulous reliability reputation - and the CX-60 SUV is partly responsible, being the fourth least dependable recent model on the road today, based on driver feedback.

Half of owners polls reported a fault, and 27 per cent of those were the suspension.

Other problems were widespread, from the fuel system to gearbox and steering, as well as the 12-volt and hybrid batteries of the PHEV versions. 

At least 85 per cent of them could still be driven on the plus side, but repairs could be slow; 41 per of cars were fixed in a day or less, but 44 per cent were in the workshop for more than a week. 

Mazda paid for all remedial work, though.

3. Kia Sportage (2016-2021)

Reliability score: 72.9%

Owners of the previous-generation Kia Sportage have reported to What Car? engine faults among diesel models. 

In fact, 54 per cent of Sportages had issues, with the engine and gearbox accounting for 21 per cent of them.

Of the Sportage owners who answered the survey, another particular gripe was non-engine electrical systems, along with the brakes.

Combining the various issues kept 50 per cent of cars out of action for more than a week. But the South Korean manufacturer did pay for 90 per cent of bills.

Unfortunately, five per cent of owners had to pay between £101 and £200, and a very unlucky five per cent had to stump up more than £1,500.  

 2. Volkswagen Tiguan (2020-present)

Reliability score: 64.2%

The latest version of the Volkswagen Tiguan has, according to the drivers who responded to the survey, the second worst reliability record of any recent car.

The Tiguan has the highest fault rate of any car in this year's survey; 81 per cent of the cars What Car? was told about has some sort of problem. 

The infotainment was the main culprit, accounting for 31 per cent of issues. The braking system and non-engine electrics each accounted for 19 per cent of problems.

Owners said that fixes were slow too with 41 per cent of afflicted cars off the road for more than a week, not helping the matter. Only 28 per cent of cars were fixed in a day. 

However, Volkswagen did fairly cover the cost of all repairs. 

1.  Nissan Juke (2019-present)

Reliability score: 55.2%

We arrive at the most unreliable car you can buy, according to over 30,000 owners who answered What Car's? call out.

The Nissan Juke scored a measly 55.2 per cent - almost half the score of models topping the list [which we have included in a list below]. The Juke also has the lowest score of all cars, in any category, of this year's What Car? Survey.

The reason the petrol SUV tanked in the scores is mainly due to a combination of slow repairs and huge garage bills. 

Although only 24 per cent of petrol Juke owners said their car had gone wrong, 64 per cent of those had their car out of action for more than a week. Worse still 60 per cent had to pay more than £1,500 per fault for repairs; only 30 per cent of problems were fixed for free. 

The engine and 12-volt battery were the biggest issues, followed by non-engine electrical glitches.