The most reliable cars of 2000

Every 2000 car tested in Britain in one year, ranked by how often it failed. Measured, not surveyed.

Best

#	Car	Engine	Failure rate	Tests
1	Lotus Elise	1.8 Petrol	12%	555
2	Porsche 911	3.4 Petrol	15%	857
3	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class	3.2 Petrol	18%	707
4	Jaguar XKR	4.0 Petrol	19%	637
5	Subaru Impreza	2.0 Petrol	19%	1,047
6	Porsche Boxster	2.7 Petrol	19%	998
7	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class	2.3 Petrol	20%	1,284
8	Porsche Boxster	3.2 Petrol	20%	1,284
9	Toyota Corolla	1.6 Petrol	21%	667
10	Rover Mini	1.3 Petrol	21%	1,388
11	Lexus IS200	2.0 Petrol	22%	582
12	BMW 3 Series	3.0 Petrol	22%	672
13	Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class	3.2 Petrol	23%	649
14	Toyota Corolla	1.4 Petrol	23%	934
15	BMW Z3	2.0 Petrol	23%	981
16	Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class	2.3 Petrol	23%	560
17	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	2.0 Petrol	23%	506
18	Saab 9-3	2.0 Petrol	23%	904
19	Jaguar XK8	4.0 Petrol	24%	629
20	BMW 3 Series	1.9 Petrol	24%	1,324
21	Land Rover Discovery	2.5 Diesel	24%	3,020
22	BMW Z3	1.9 Petrol	24%	610
23	Ford Transit	2.5 Diesel	24%	1,131
24	BMW 3 Series	2.5 Petrol	24%	1,249
25	BMW 5 Series	2.5 Petrol	25%	502

Worst

#	Car	Engine	Failure rate	Tests
1	Ford Fiesta	1.2 Petrol	33%	1,425
2	Renault Clio	1.1 Petrol	33%	1,054
3	Volkswagen Beetle	2.0 Petrol	33%	1,149
4	Volkswagen Golf	1.4 Petrol	32%	508
5	Ford Focus	1.8 Petrol	32%	1,503
6	Volkswagen Transporter	1.9 Diesel	32%	2,804
7	Honda Accord	1.9 Petrol	32%	548
8	Citroen Berlingo	1.9 Diesel	32%	606
9	Peugeot 206	1.4 Petrol	32%	1,078
10	Ford Fiesta	1.3 Petrol	31%	790
11	Volkswagen Caravelle	2.5 Diesel	31%	689
12	Nissan Micra	1.0 Petrol	31%	3,950
13	Renault Clio	1.4 Petrol	31%	546
14	Ford Focus	2.0 Petrol	31%	556
15	Volkswagen Transporter	2.5 Diesel	31%	3,243
16	Honda Accord	2.0 Petrol	31%	506
17	Peugeot 106	1.1 Petrol	31%	635
18	Honda CR-V	2.0 Petrol	30%	1,204
19	Ford Focus	1.6 Petrol	30%	1,960
20	Toyota Celica	1.8 Petrol	30%	549
21	Nissan Micra	1.3 Petrol	30%	649
22	Volkswagen Golf	2.0 Petrol	30%	1,081
23	Toyota Yaris	1.0 Petrol	30%	2,533
24	Vauxhall Corsa	1.2 Petrol	30%	1,482
25	Honda HR-V	1.6 Petrol	29%	513

What this measures

Britain tests every car over three years old against a published standard and publishes the result. This is that record for the 2000 model year, so every car here is the same age and none is flattered by being newer.

A car driven less fails less. An expensive one often sits high for reasons that are not about how well it was built, which is why the app can rank these at the same odometer reading.