Japanese used car

Breakdown insurer Warranty Direct compiled the report on its 55,000 car database based on figures over the past decade of how much time each kind of car has spent off the road.

The shocking truth is that the whole of the top 10 are Japanese makes, and 16 of the top 20. The Honda Accord sits proudly at number 1, followed by Subaru’s Forester and the Mazda MX-5. Mitsubishi, Toyota and Nissan fill in the remaining places.

The first non-Asian car is the British Jag X-Type at 12th most reliable, while famed Germanic solidity is notable by its absence until Mercedes’ SLK at no.25, only one place ahead of the Citroen Xsara.

Although these may not be the iest cars on the road (excepting the MX-5) it does back up the old chestnut about truly reliable cars all coming from Japan.

To see a complete breakdown of car list, visit www.reliabilityindex.co.uk