Knowing what vehicle to purchase comes with many challenges and reliability is one of the most important factors in the decision-making process.
Scrap vehicle experts National Scrap Car submitted a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA to find out the number of newly registered vehicles in 2014, and compared this with scrapped vehicle data from 2014-2023, to uncover the most reliable makes and models.
Top 10 most reliable vehicles
| # | Vehicle | New Registrations in 2014 | Volume Scrapped 2014-2023 | Reliability Score |
| 1 | Lexus RX | 1,799 | 4 | 99.78% |
| 2 | Volvo XC | 14,125 | 47 | 99.67% |
| 3 | Mini Roadster | 1,153 | 4 | 99.65% |
| 4 | Porsche Boxster | 1,271 | 5 | 99.61% |
| 5 | Porsche 911 | 2,016 | 10 | 99.50% |
| 6 | Porsche Cayenne | 2,304 | 12 | 99.48% |
| 7 | Porsche Cayman | 1,407 | 8 | 99.43% |
| – | Mazda MX-5 | 2,994 | 17 | 99.43% |
| 9 | Audi Q5 | 8,170 | 52 | 99.36% |
| – | Volkswagen Transporter | 18,678 | 120 | 99.36% |
National Scrap Car’s study places the Lexus RX as the most reliable vehicle. In the past decade, only 4 vehicles were scrapped compared to the 1,799 that were registered in 2014 – creating a reliability score of 99.78%.
In second position is the Volvo XC series, followed by the Mini Roadster. Although the Mini Roadster has also seen just 4 scrapped vehicles since 2014, there’s been a higher volume of new registrations of this fleet – bringing its reliability score to 99.65%. This sporty convertible was discontinued in 2015, however it upholds its reputation for its build quality and suitability to urban driving.
Dorry Potter, vehicle expert at National Scrap Car commented:
“Typically drivers hold on to their vehicles for 8 years, while you can expect a standard car to last around 12 years or about 200,000 miles. Looking at the volume of manufacturers within the data we can see some appear again and again for their different models. The manufacturers with the highest number of occurrences are Audi, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW and Toyota.”
The most reliable model by each of the top 10 manufacturers
| # | Manufacturer | Model | New Registrations in 2014 | Volume Scrapped 2014-2023 | Reliability Score |
| 1 | Audi | Q5 | 8170 | 52 | 99.36% |
| – | Volkswagen | Transporter | 18678 | 120 | 99.36% |
| – | Mercedes-Benz | SLK | 5444 | 35 | 99.36% |
| 4 | Toyota | RAV4 | 7416 | 56 | 99.24% |
| 5 | Ford | Kuga | 24015 | 199 | 99.17% |
| 6 | BMW | Z4 | 2065 | 19 | 99.08% |
| – | Kia | Sportage | 21050 | 194 | 99.08% |
| 8 | Vauxhall | Mokka | 33394 | 401 | 98.80% |
| 9 | Peugeot | Horizon | 1682 | 23 | 98.63% |
| 10 | Citroën | DS5 | 1241 | 22 | 98.23% |
To take the study one step further, National Scrap Car took a deep dive into the data to uncover the most reliable vehicle model of each of the top 10 manufacturers.
While the figures vary in relation to how many vehicles were registered in 2014, there remains a large proportion of these vehicles on our roads today.
Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have a joint reliability score in the top position of our rankings. For Audi, their most reliable model is the Q5, a compact luxury crossover SUV; only 52 of this model have been scrapped within the past decade.
While vans typically have a reputation for being less reliable, the Volkswagen Transporter is the manufacturers top performing vehicle. For Mercedes-Benz, their SLK – sportlich (sporty), leicht (lightweight), and kurz (short) – comes out on top.
