Large SUVs are popular choices for families, so they need to be dependable as well as practical. Here we reveal the most and least reliable models…
School trips, shopping trips, road trips… large SUVs are relied upon by many families for them all. So, as well as being comfortable and spacious, they have to be durable and dependable.
Fortunately, the What Car? Reliability Survey can help you pick a good one, because more than 16,000 people told us about the faults their cars had suffered in the last year, the amount of time those cars were off the road, and how much they had to pay for repairs.
We then used this data to give each model a unique reliability rating. And here we reveal the most and reliable large SUVs aged up to five years old.
We’re running our Reliability Survey again at the moment, so once you’ve read the story, please let us know how dependable your car has been.
The 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey is open – tell us about your car here
Top 10 most reliable large SUVs
10. Jaguar F-Pace diesel (2016-present)
Reliability Rating 93.4%
According to owners, 10% of F-Pace SUVs experienced a fault. Difficulties were mainly to do with the sat-nav, non-engine electrics, interior trim and seats, but there were also complaints regarding the exhaust, brakes, bodywork and battery.
Only 11% of vehicles were fixed within a day, with the rest taking up to a week to repair. It’s good news that just over half (67%) of faulty cars were fixed for free, but the remaining 33% of owners had to pay bills of up to £750.
9. Peugeot 5008 (2017-present)
Reliability Rating 94.6%
The 5008 is certainly an eye-catching and practical SUV, it’s good then, that it’s also fairly reliable. Among owners, 25% reported a fault, primarily to do with bodywork, followed by the gearbox and fuel system. Eighty percent of these vehicles were still driveable and were repaired within a day at no cost to the owners.
8. Mazda CX-5 diesel (2017-present)
Reliability Rating 95.0%
You’re better off picking a petrol CX-5 than a diesel because they were afflicted by far fewer problems, with a fault rate of 12% compared with 21% for diesels. Mazda did cover the cost of most (86%) of repairs, with the remaining 14% of owners having to pay out of their own pocket. However, no bills exceeded £300 and all cars were still driveable and repaired within a week. The main problem areas involved: bodywork, sat nav and engine issues.
7. Kia Sorento (2010-2015)
Reliability Rating 95.1%
According to our survey, 22% of Sorento SUVs suffered problems, mostly affecting non-engine electrics. There were, however, also a small number of complaints regarding the bodywork, brakes, gearbox, sat nav and steering.
Although 86% of the costs for repair work were covered by Kia, that left 14% of drivers having to pay out of their own pocket. Problems were serious and slow to resolve in many cases: only 21% of vehicles could still be driven and were fixed in less than a day while the rest took up to a week.
6. Skoda Kodiaq diesel (2016-present)
Reliability Rating 96%
Around 20% of diesel-engined Kodiaq owners reported faults, primarily to do with the engine, followed by issues with the battery and bodywork. Despite all the repair bills being covered by Skoda, almost half (46%) of the cars we were told about took up to a week to repair.
5. Ford Kuga petrol (2013-2020)
Reliability Rating 96.1%
If you want a Kuga you’ll be better off picking a petrol model because only six percent of them suffered a fault compared with 24% of diesels. Owners told us that their petrol Kugas had issues with the air conditioning and sat nav, but all cars could still be driven. Even though all cars with problems spent more than a week in the repair shop, all work was done for free.
4. BMW X3 diesel (2018-present)
Reliability Rating 96.5%
BMW X3 diesel owners told us that 17% of their cars had an issue, most of which concerned engine electrics and the exhaust, although there were also a small number of reports regarding the battery and bodywork. The problems weren’t too serious, though, because 50% of cars were still driveable and were put right in less than a day. Ownership costs were minimal too, with 92% of X3s repaired under warranty and no repair bills exceeding £100.
3. Honda CR-V (2012-2018)
Reliability Rating 97.4%
Only 13% of the Honda CR-Vs we were told about suffered a problem, mainly to do with the engine, exhaust, gearbox and sat nav. Half of these were fixed within a day, while the other half took up to a week to repair, and all work was done at no cost to the owners.
2. Mazda CX-5 petrol (2017-present)
Reliability Rating 97.5%
Although 12% of petrol CX-5s suffered a glitch, all issues were resolved relatively swiftly. All cars could still be driven, 63% were fixed in a day or less and no owners were faced with nasty bills because Mazda covered all costs. Problem areas included the bodywork, interior trim and seats and battery.
1. BMW X3 petrol (2018-present)
Reliability Rating 97.7%
Although 17% of the petrol-engined X3s we were told about had gone wrong over the previous 12 months, the majority of issues were minor, involving non-engine electrics and bodywork. All cars were still driveable and over half (60%) were repaired within a day. Even better, petrol X3 owners had no bills to pay because BMW covered the cost of all repairs.
Keyword: Most and least reliable large SUVs