The most reliable cars of 2002

Every 2002 car tested in Britain in one year, ranked by how often it failed. Measured, not surveyed.

Best

#	Car	Engine	Failure rate	Tests
1	BMW M3	3.2 Petrol	12%	1,383
2	Porsche 911	3.6 Petrol	14%	2,587
3	Honda S2000	2.0 Petrol	15%	737
4	Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	5.0 Petrol	16%	837
5	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class	3.2 Petrol	16%	538
6	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class	2.3 Petrol	18%	1,159
7	BMW Z3	2.2 Petrol	20%	724
8	Porsche Boxster	3.2 Petrol	20%	1,523
9	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class	2.0 Petrol	20%	680
10	Renault Clio	2.0 Petrol	21%	534
11	Subaru Impreza	2.0 Petrol	21%	1,353
12	Land Rover Range Rover	4.4 Petrol	21%	631
13	Porsche Boxster	2.7 Petrol	22%	1,133
14	BMW 3 Series	3.0 Petrol	22%	3,248
15	BMW 3 Series	2.2 Petrol	22%	1,472
16	MG TF	1.8 Petrol	22%	2,140
17	Honda HR-V	1.6 Petrol	22%	599
18	BMW 5 Series	3.0 Petrol	23%	734
19	Lexus IS200	2.0 Petrol	23%	1,242
20	BMW 5 Series	2.5 Petrol	23%	638
21	Toyota RAV-4	2.0 Petrol	23%	1,136
22	Toyota Corolla	1.6 Petrol	23%	2,522
23	Toyota RAV-4	1.8 Petrol	23%	544
24	BMW 3 Series	1.8 Petrol	23%	542
25	Jaguar XJ	3.2 Petrol	23%	558

Worst

#	Car	Engine	Failure rate	Tests
1	Volkswagen Beetle	1.6 Petrol	35%	822
2	Vauxhall Combo	1.7 Diesel	34%	948
3	Volkswagen Beetle	2.0 Petrol	34%	639
4	Vauxhall Vivaro	1.9 Diesel	34%	1,349
5	Honda Accord	2.0 Petrol	34%	531
6	Peugeot 206	2.0 Diesel	33%	677
7	Peugeot 206	1.4 Diesel	33%	860
8	Fiat Punto	1.2 Petrol	33%	1,324
9	Ford Focus	1.8 Diesel	33%	1,151
10	Volkswagen Polo	1.2 Petrol	33%	5,148
11	Peugeot 206	2.0 Petrol	32%	881
12	Ford KA	1.3 Petrol	32%	1,547
13	Mercedes-Benz Vito	2.2 Diesel	32%	636
14	Citroen Xsara	1.6 Petrol	32%	785
15	Vauxhall Corsa	1.2 Petrol	32%	5,780
16	Citroen Xsara	2.0 Diesel	32%	1,143
17	Citroen C3	1.4 Petrol	32%	1,178
18	Audi A2	1.4 Petrol	32%	917
19	Vauxhall Astra	1.7 Diesel	31%	1,708
20	Renault Clio	1.1 Petrol	31%	3,631
21	Peugeot 307	2.0 Diesel	31%	772
22	Vauxhall Corsa	1.0 Petrol	31%	1,667
23	Ford Focus	1.4 Petrol	31%	871
24	Renault Trafic	1.9 Diesel	31%	982
25	Jaguar X-Type	2.5 Petrol	31%	667

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 2002 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.