HONDA has emerged victorious in UK’s 2007 Which? Car reliability study of new models - its Jazz supermini besting all other contenders to emerge as the overall ratings with a rating from owners of 96 per cent.

Honda – also maker of top of the line auto parts like Honda ball joint, has also either won or shared top spot in the medium car bracket with the previous generation Civic; in the large car group with the Accord; in the people-carrier section with the FR-V and among off-roaders with the old CR-V.

The only disappointment the automaker so far had was with its latest Civic which earned a poor reliability rating of only 82 per cent. Overall average for new cars was 88 per cent.

According to Which? Car, the least reliable new model based from its survey of 93,365 motorists was the Land Rover Discovery 3, "not as big and tough as it thinks it is," with a rating of 79 per cent.

Which? Car also noted that the VW Passat, contrary to Volkswagen's reputation for reliability, was a disappointment, same with the Peugeot 307 and Renault Megane, all with 82 per cent.

Honda also won Which? Car’s manufacturers' league table, taking the overall reliability index of 86 per cent, with Toyota following closely behind with just one point to sit in the second place.

Following in the list were other Far Eastern manufacturers: Daihatsu, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki were all vying for the third place, all of which scored 82 per cent.

At the bottom of the list was Land Rover with 68 per cent, just behind Renault and Fiat.
‘Honda is setting the benchmark in car reliability and it’s up to other manufacturers to raise their standards to match.’ Which? Car Editor Richard Headland, said
Complete List:
Category: Superminis

Most reliable new car(s)
Honda Jazz (96 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Fiat Grande Punto (85 per cent)

Category: Medium cars

Most reliable new car(s)
Honda Civica, Mazda 3
(both 94 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Citroën C4, Honda Civic, Peugeot 307, Renault Mégane (all 82 per cent)

Category: Large cars

Most reliable new car(s)
BMW 3 Series, Honda Accord, Toyota Avensis (all 94 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Peugeot 407, Skoda Octavia, VW Passat, Volvo S40/V50 (all 82 per cent)

Category: Luxury cars

Most reliable new car(s)
Audi A6 (91 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
BMW 5 Series, Jaguar S-type, Saab 9-5, Volvo V70 (all 85 per cent)

Category: Mini MPVs

Most reliable new car(s)
Nissan Note (94 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Ford Fusion, Vauxhall Meriva (both 88 per cent)

Category: MPVs (people carriers)

Most reliable new car(s)
Honda FR-V (91 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Chrysler Grand Voyager, Ford
C-Max, Renault Scénic (all 82 per cent)

Category: Sports/coupés

Most reliable new car(s)
Mazda MX-5 (94 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Mazda RX-8 (82 per cent)

Category: Off-roaders

Most reliable new car(s)
Honda CR-Va, Toyota RAV4 (both 94 per cent)

Least reliable new car(s)
Land Rover Discovery 3 (79 per cent)