Unlike the recently published reliability rating according to the American edition of Consumer Reports, the results of a similar German study are not based on reviews from owners. The rating of the expert organization TÜV SÜD is based on the statistics of critical defects collected during the vehicle inspection in Germany.
This year, the technical inspection covered more than ten million vehicles. And along the way, it was revealed that the average age of cars in Germany for the first time in many years exceeded the ten-year mark: now it is 10.1 years old. The share of critical defects detected during the inspection increased from 17.9% last year to 20.5%. German experts explain such results not only by the aging of the fleet itself, but also by the deteriorating financial situation of many car owners. Simply put, motorists in Germany began to spend less money on high-quality maintenance of their iron horses.
Volkswagen Golf Plus
In the final ranking, all the surveyed cars are divided by age categories, and this time another, the oldest group of cars (12-13 years old) was added. The Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf Plus and Toyota RAV4 are recognized as the most reliable in it. And the worst results were achieved by the Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Dacia Logan models.
Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan, Audi Q2 and Audi TT won the youngest and most important category “under three years old”. For three-year-olds, the impact of the above-mentioned quality service is minimized, and the initial reliability of the design and build quality come to the fore. The outsiders in this category were the Seat Alhambra, Dacia Logan and Tesla Model 3. German inspectors had especially many questions about the braking system and chassis of Tesla.
Summary table of outsiders in different age groups:
