The most and least reliable cars on sale in Britain have been revealed following a survey of more than 16,000 drivers, Press Association has reported.

The survey looked at nearly new cars and cars up to five years old.

The Reliability Survey is run by consumer publication What Car?, and provides scores for 178 vehicles from 30 manufacturers.

Six models achieved a full 100 per cent rating. These were: the current-generation Audi TT, Mazda CX-3, Mini Convertible and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, and the previous-generation Dacia Sendero and Honda HR-V.

Lexus was donned the most reliable car manufacturer, giving an overall rating of 98.7 and none of its vehicles scoring below 98.4.

Dacia came second most reliable, scoring 97.3. Suzuki were next with 97.1.

Land Rover and Fiat achieved the lowest scores, coming in at 82 and 82.5 per cent.

Luxury SUVs collectively scored low with an average of 88.8.

However, the Porsche Macan scored a 97.9 per cent rating.

BMW Series 1 was the highest-rated family car with a rating of 97.7.

Nissan Leaf was rated most reliable electric car with 98.6, and Skoda Superb was the best executive model at 99.2.

The study further showed that a high price tag doesn’t necessarily equate to a guarantee of reliability.

What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: “The UK’s used car market is currently booming, making it all the more important that people know which models will be reliable. With feedback from more than 16,000 owners, the latest What Car? Reliability Survey highlights the brands and models with the best and worst records.

“Our latest study also shows that a high price tag isn’t always a guarantee of reliability, because some of Britain’s cheapest cars are among the most reliable.”

The 16,328 car owners were asked whether their car had gone wrong in the past 12 months, how long repairs took and how much they cost, with the overall score expressed as a percentage. Twenty per cent had experienced a fault with 85 per cent repaired for free.