Traditionally, the WhatCar study is based on a survey of 13,000 owners. Respondents answered questions about how often their car broke down over the past year, how expensive the repairs were, and how long they took. As a result, the following results were obtained.
The most unreliable premium crossovers
3rd place. Land Rover Discovery (2004-2017). Reliability percentage – 45.7%. Over 50% of all units were prone to breakdowns, with repair costs reaching £1,000 in 1/3 of cases. 27% of all faults were related to the suspension, and frequent problems were also noted with the battery and engine. On the bright side, 75% of faults were fixed in less than a week.
2nd place. BMW X5 (2007-2013). Reliability percentage – 42.6%. As many as 53% of second-generation BMW X5 units failed. Weak points – brakes, engine, and suspension; repairs were also not cheap – from £300 to £500, and in 9% of cases – £1,500. However, most breakdowns were also resolved in less than a week.
1st place. Porsche Macan. Reliability percentage – 40.4%. The German crossover does not break down very often (36%), but when it does, the owner faces a serious blow to the wallet. In 31% of cases, repair costs exceeded £1,500, and only half of the repairs ranged from £200 to £750. But there is good news: only in 15% of cases did repairs stretch beyond a week.
The most reliable premium crossovers
3rd place. Volvo XC90 (2002-2015). Reliability percentage – 75%. Defects were found in only 23% of units, and even then they were related to non-expensive components – air conditioning, brakes, power steering, and wiring. The cost of fixing the fault ranged from £51 to £1,000.
2nd place. Range Rover Sport (2013-present). Reliability percentage – 75.6%. Range Rover cars are considered unreliable, but this does not apply to the Sport model, according to WhatCar experts. Only 13% of owners of such cars reported faults. However, if a Range does break down, it does so in a big way – many components and units can fail, from the gearbox and clutches to engine electronics. Fixing 2/3 of all breakdowns took more than a week, so it is not surprising that in some cases service station costs amounted to £1,500.
1st place. BMW X5 (2013-2018). Among all X5s of the specified years, 29% of cars failed, but what matters here is that almost two-thirds of breakdowns were fixed in just one day! Owners of such crossovers were most often plagued by exhaust system problems, slightly less often by air conditioning and engine electronics. In 20% of cases, repairs were done under warranty, while the rest of the X5 owners had to pay from £50 to £1,500.
Recall that earlier WhatCar named the most reliable crossovers of 2000-2015, and also compiled a reliability rating of cars by brand.
