South Africans are a relatively careful bunch and are somewhat wary of unknown car brands, but are there any that should be avoided? Who is top dog in the reliability stakes?
It’s not surprising - Toyota takes the top spot
According to US-based Consumer Reports’ annual auto reliability report of 2022, the brands that came out on top are Toyota and Lexus, while Jeep and Mercedes-Benz were at the bottom end of the dependability scale. This doesn’t mean that all Mercs and all Jeeps are unreliable, however, and many of the brands and cars on the list are not even for sale in SA.
A feather in the cap of Toyota SA is that many of their best-sellers are built right here at the KZN Prospecton plant, making parts easily available and driving prices down: The Corolla, Corolla Cross, Hilux, as well as the Fortuner, roll off the production line on a daily basis.
The Corolla Cross was SA’s Car of the Year for 2022, and the Hilux is SA’s best-selling bakkie which scored the highest marks for reliability in the 2017 IPSOS Car Reliability Survey. The full 2017 reliability report can be accessed on IPSOS here.
Read our Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8i GR-S (2022) Review here.
What else is built in Mzansi?
Other locally produced vehicles include the Ford Ranger built in Silverton, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Isuzu D-MAX in Gqeberha, the Mahindra Pik-Up in Durban, the Nissan NP200, NP300, Navara, and BMW X3 at the Rosslyn Plant in Tshwane, and the VW Polo and Polo Vivo in Kariega.
The most reliable Toyotas of all time include the Corolla, Land Cruiser, RAV4, Prius, and Yaris.
Which cars would South African drivers recommend?
Despite the bad rap that researchers in the US give Mercedes-Benz, local drivers would still recommend it to others. Other widely-recommended cars include the Mazda CX-5, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz GLC, A-Class, VW Tiguan, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Grand i10, BMW 1 Series and Toyota Fortuner.
Read all our latest Toyota Fortuner reviews here.
The best of the best... in the US
To find out what other major researchers from abroad learned from reliability surveys that include locally-available brands, click on the following related articles - but bear in mind that this is to be used as a guideline only:
1. What brand of car has the least issues?
2. What car brand lasts forever?
3. Which car brand lasts the longest?
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