JAPANESE cars are no longer the most reliable, according to an independent survey of more than three quarters of a million models in which more than half of the top-rated cars are now made in Europe.
The most reliable single model of all is the Honda Civic, which is made in Britain, whilst BMW lines up alongside Honda as the joint most reliable and more than half of the cars least likely to break down are European.
The reliability survey of 840,000 cars operated by the UK's 50 largest leasing companies reveals that following BMW and Honda in the reliability stakes are Audi, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Mazda, Nissan and Skoda.
Whilst Honda, Toyota and Nissan are Japanese-based businesses, most of the cars they sell in the UK are made here too including the Civic, Avensis, Qashqai and Micra.
This suggests that UK motor manufacturing plants are not only among the most productive in the world but that the quality of workmanship is among the highest too.
The reliability survey undertaken by Fleet News and financial consultants Grant Thornton asks leasing companies to assess reliability according to the number of breakdowns per model on their fleet.
The majority of the surveyed vehicles are used for business and cover high mileages so the survey is regarded as the most representative of real-world reliability.
It shows that the Honda Civic and BMW 3 Series are the least likely to break down, followed by the Honda Jazz, Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class, MINI, Toyota Avensis and Volkswagen Golf.
The MINI is made in the UK by BMW, which has also won an award for achieving the greatest overall reduction in CO2 emissions. According to an independent report published by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, the average reduction across the industry is 3.3 per cent but BMW achieved more than three times that at 10.2 per cent.
The cars' use of BMW's EfficientDynamics has resulted in an average CO2 figure of 154g/km in comparison to 172g/km in 2007 and this is expected to continue to fall as more models incorporate the technology.
The system is also a feature of the BMW 730Ld, which has just been named Chauffeur Car of the Year, thanks partly to its 41mpg average economy and CO2 emissions of just 180g/km, which are considered exceptional for a large limousine.
The 7 Series beat the Lexus LS600h and also the Mercedes S350 CDI, which according to KeeResources' KwikCarCost calculator costs 7.5p per mile more to run over three years or 60,000 miles than the BMW 730Ld SE.