Most and least reliable used petrol cars
Petrol models are the best-selling type of new car, so there are plenty of secondhand examples to choose from. We reveal the most - and least - dependable...
There are plenty of reasons for picking a petrol-engined used car over a diesel one. For starters, they're cheaper to fill up, yet improvements in fuel economy mean they're unlikely to drink fuel much faster than their diesel equivalents.
A petrol-engined model is also a better bet if you travel into a city centre regularly, because it's less likely to be eligible for a low emission zone fee.
The rules for regional clean air zones and London's ultra low emission zone are that drivers of most diesels registered before September 2015 and petrols sold before January 2006 must pay to enter the zone.
Dependability is another important reason to plump for a petrol. According to the latest What Car? Reliability Survey only 22% of petrol-engined cars suffered a fault, compared with 50% of diesels.
The survey – compiled in association with MotorEasy – can help you identify the best and worst petrol models to live with. We asked nearly 25,000 car owners to tell us how reliable their cars had been.
Here's our round-up of the 14 most reliable petrol models aged between six and 20 years old, and the six you may want to avoid.
- Read more: Most reliable used cars and SUVs >>
Best small cars 2024 plus the ones to avoid – tried & tested
More people buy small hatchbacks than any other type of car. However, there are an awful lot to choose from, so here we count down the top 10 – and reveal the models to avoid
