Panic at the Disco: Bad news for Land Rover as data reveals UK's most unreliable cars
Thu, 14 May 2026
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A new report has revealed the most and least reliable used cars on the road in the UK. Used car warranty provider Warrantywise has published its 2026 Used Vehicle Reliability Index.
Topping the list for reliability in 2026 is the Toyota Yaris, which scored a 89.2 out of a possible 100, edging out the Kia Picanto and the Toyota Aygo into second and third respectively. Toyota's RAV-4 and Hilux models also made the top 10.
At the other end of the scale, it's bad news for Land Rover, with five of the top 10 most unreliable models coming from the Solihull firm.
The Land Rover Discovery was bottom of the list with a score of 17.2 out of 100, while the Range Rover Velar, the Range Rover Sport, Discovery Sport and Defender 110 also feature.
Complexity costs big cash
The bottom 10 cars indicate a worrying trend for used car buyers opting for desirable premium SUV or saloon models. High-end choices like the BMW X7, Audi A7 and Mercedes S-Class are high in complexity and carry premium badges, ramping up repair costs for both parts and labour.
This also makes it essential that buyers consider the history and maintenance record when opting for a premium used-car buy.
The average warranty claim across the least reliable list is over £2000, while the most claimed is £44,401.48 on a Discovery Sport. Warrantywise also noted that its data reveals an average age at the time of repair of 6.8 years and a mileage of over 69,000 miles is prime time for a claim.
"As the UK car parc continues to age, more vehicles - particularly SUVs and premium models - are moving into a stage of ownership where repair requests become more likely," says Antony Diggins, Managing Director of Warrantywise.
"That doesn’t make them the wrong used cars to retail, but it does mean they need to be approached differently... It’s about buying with clear visibility on cost exposure, preparing vehicles thoroughly and helping customers plan for the realities of longer-term ownership."
How the data was collected
Warrantywise looked at 1.6-million claim data points from cars in its internal database aged three to 15 years old.
Information including the frequency of repair requests, average labour costs, average vehicle age and mileage at the time of required repairs was factored in to give each car a score out of 100.
The higher the score the more reliable a car is likely to be. The results are then tabulated and published in the firm's Reliability Index.
