Hybrid Perfection: Lexus and Toyota Hybrids Prove Faultless in What Car? Reliability Survey

Self-charging hybrid electric models from Lexus and Toyota have registered perfect 100 per cent scores in the 2019 What Car? Reliability Survey. The results drawn from the responses of more than 18,000 British motorists reaffirm the long-lasting quality and durability of the technology, pioneered by Toyota since 1997.

The Lexus CT 200h luxury compact hatchback and the Yaris Hybrid supermini were two of three cars to achieve a blemish-free record in the survey, with respondents reporting no faults at all in the past year. Their achievement was not a quirk: the strength-in-depth of the Lexus and Toyota model ranges earned the brands first and second places overall in the rankings for most reliable manufacturer, with scores of 99.3 and 97.7 per cent respectively.

Announcing the results, What Car? reported: “Many people worry that hybrid and electric cars will be less reliable and costlier to service and repair, due to all the new technology they utilise. However, two of the three cars with a 100 per cent reliability rating come from this class: the Lexus CT and Toyota Yaris Hybrid. Owners of these two hybrid hatchbacks told use their cars had performed perfectly over the previous 12 months; not one experienced a problem.”

For Lexus, it’s a third year running at the top, having headed the tables in 2017 and 2018, while the CT 200h strengthens its position as the nation’s most dependable luxury car, having also achieved a 100 per cent score in the 2017 survey.

This year the Toyota RAV4 was again the most reliable model in the large SUV category with a “virtually fault-free” record and a 99.5 per cent reliability score.

Reliability is one of the key factors behind the rapid growth in popularity of Toyota and Lexus hybrids, together with the technology’s fundamental fuel economy and low emissions, smooth and refined performance and competitive ownership costs. Hybrid electric models currently account for 56 per cent of Toyota new vehicle sales in the UK, while for Lexus the proportion is more than 99 per cent.

Paul Van der Burgh, President and Managing Director of Toyota and Lexus in the UK, said: “We are committed to delivering the highest levels of quality, durability and reliability in every car we make, so it is very rewarding to see how this is reflected in the day-to-day ownership experiences of our customers. The What Car? survey confirms that our self-charging hybrid electric technology is robust and can be relied upon to do the job, mile after mile.”

The What Car? Reliability Survey, conducted in association with MotorEasy, asked owners of vehicles between one and five years old whether their car had gone wrong in the past 12 months, how long repairs took and how much they had to pay to get their vehicle back on the road.

ENDS