Richard Yarrow’s opinion for www.startrescue.co.uk, providing low cost Breakdown Cover

Thankfully, engineering excellence and technical development mean we have pretty reliable cars on our roads today. Yes, things happen that can’t be forseen and it may be that you will need car breakdown cover at some point. That’s particularly true if you drive an older vehicle with a good few miles behind it.

 

But what should you buy if you’re looking for something that’s going to go the distance? In short, what’s the most reliable brand? Thanks to warranty firms it’s easy enough to find out. They just have to check their database of claims to see which car companies appear least.

 

Yesterday cover provider MB&G did just that, and here are the published results:

 

1 Honda

2 Lexus

3 Mitsubishi

4 Toyota

5 Suzuki

6 Kia

7 Hyundai

8 Subaru

9 Mazda

10 Nissan

 

You don’t have to be a genius to work out what these 10 brands have in common. The top five are all Japanese, then you’ve got the only two globally recognised Korean car companies, and the list is wrapped up with three more Japs. All the mainstream Japanese brands are in there in the top 10. Even though they are assembled all over the world, including the UK, it’s an astonishing endorsement of their production techniques, processes and management. Even supposedly more fragile performance models like the Honda Civic Type R (pictured) are ultra-reliable.

 

There are very few bad new models around today because all car makers buy vehicles from rival firms and pull them to bits to see how they are doing it. Whether they choose to copy the most successful usually comes down to budget. While there are a few unattractive cars, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And in the current economic climate, people will put up with an awful lot of bland styling in the interests of having something that’s not going to let them down and cost money.

 

I could list half a dozen cars that, on the face of it, I wouldn’t give the time of day to because I think they’re dull. That’s from both a styling and dynamic perspective. And I have my favourites like everyone else. But when it comes down to spending your own hard-earned money, it’s amazing how quickly the head starts to rule the heart. And the head says Japanese or Korean. I can assure you I’m no different to anyone else.