(Tue 06 Oct 09)

Warranty Direct has issued some very interesting figures about the reliability of superminis, based on analysis of its policyholders' experience. The sample is relatively small, of course, and all the cars were between four and seven years old, so they don't necessarily reflect what will happen with a new car (since most of the models in question have been replaced within the last four years), but the implied trends are worth noting.

When it comes to reliability surveys, Honda usually makes an appearance at or near the top of the list, and sure enough this one is led by the Honda Jazz, which managed an incidence rate of just 10%. The Toyota Yaris was next on 13%, followed by the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Lupo, which tied on 17%.

Where the Fiesta really scored was in the average repair cost, which was just £91.01, less than half that of the Yaris and Lupo and well under the £209.76 of the Jazz. However, the Jazz was only marginally above the average for superminis as a whole, which stands at £208.99.

According to Warranty Direct, the least reliable supermini is the SEAT Ibiza, which had an incidence rate of 48%, followed by the Skoda Fabia (which, oddly, had a very high average repair cost of £221.51) on 39% and the Renault Clio on 34%. By far the most common faults - nearly 40% of the total - reported for the Ibiza were suspension-related, while one in seven Fabias suffered faults with the heating system and one in ten Renault Clios had engine problems. More than 10% of Volkswagen Polo owners had brake trouble, which contributed to an incidence rate of 28%.

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