Honda Accord Euro wins UK reliability survey
July 30, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Honda’s new Accord (sold as the Accord Euro here in Australia) has been named as the UK’s most reliable car in this year’s Which? car survey.
The Honda sedan achieved a reliability score of 99 per cent, one of the highest scores ever achieved; closely followed by the new Honda Jazz in second place with a score of 98 per cent.
Honda cars hold four of the top ten places in the recent survey. As well as the second-generation Jazz reaching second place, the first-generation Jazz also scored 95.9 per cent achieving sixth place in the survey.
The Civic Hybrid achieved pole position in the hybrid vehicle sector with a score of 95.7 per cent, seventh place in the overall survey and edging ahead of its rival the Toyota Prius with 95 per cent.
A total of 77,000 drivers across the UK took part in the Which? survey to assess customer satisfaction. The survey based its results on breakdowns, faults and general niggles over a 12 month period.
“A reliable car is something every customer deserves; knowing that your car will simply get you from A to B without any problems makes a huge difference to a customer’s enjoyment of their car,” said Matt Gibson, Head of Customer Services for Honda UK.
“We always strive to give our customers the best experience. It is fantastic news that four of the top seven cars featured in the survey are Hondas.”
Honda has also performed well in the recent JD Power survey, appearing in the top three car manufacturers for four years running.
Print it: 
As there is a picture of it, when are we due to get the Accord (Euro) Tourer (Wagon) here?
Well done Honda. I know of one owner who says the biggest problem with the Accord is it chews through tires.
MisterTwo.
I have it on good authority that the resaon the Euro Tourer is not available in Oz is some Mickey-Mouse thing to do with child seat attachments. (Some idiot in Product Planning must have ticked the wrong box and it takes four years to reverse it).
We have it here in NZ and a good looking wagon it is too.
Sorry, it’s an ADR thing with the child seats, which doesn’t apply in NZ. Doesn’t excuse them for stuffing it up though.
hondas are very reliable, we already know…
Well done Honda!! It’s not a surprise Honda won a UK reliability survey. Among ‘The 10 toughest cars on the road 2009 by Forbes’, Honda got 4, Ford and Subaru got 2,and Toyota and Hyundai did 1 for each. On the other hand, I can’t see any European brand on the list. It seems like European vehicle companies rely on their brand image and history rather than reliability and value. I reckon it’s bubble and someday it will burst.
When I read the title of the articel and it said “Honda Accord Wins UK Reliability Survey” I thought to myself well it obviously isn’t a survey that was done by JD “Toyota” Powers.. as only Lexus or Toyota can win them
The difference is that unlike the JD Powers survey – this is a survey that was done be a respected international car magazine where the respondents are more likely to be real car enthusiasts who actually have an interest in and know something about [performance] cars etc
Therefore; in my opinion even though JD Powers is a well respected market research group the Which Car Survey is more a more accurate more reliable reference..
Well done Honda.
Fernando is right…Audi A5 was one of the worst performing Brand/Models in 121 position and a customer approval survey rating of 75.8%.
One in 4 A5 survey suffered from electrical problems…
Funny I was browsing Audi A4 just a few minutes ago in Carsales. People’s been talking about perceived reliability lately in relation to European brands. Is Audi all that bad?
The other day I was talking to a friend who owns a Golf, and he confessed recently this 4 year-old Golf had a water pump / radiator issue (and possibly a bunch of other issues he couldn’t recall – he is not a car guy) and all the bill (including a major service) ran up to $3000! It was a bit of surprise because his Golf felt so solid like it could go on for 100 years.
So what is the real story? I have to believe my friend is a very isolated case because isn’t VW selling more cars each year? In any case my friend despite this ordeal swears by VW and he would buy another Golf. Go figure.
Wheelnut®™, you are definately missing a nut!!
Wheelnut®™ Says:”this is a survey that was done be a respected international car magazine where the respondents are more likely to be real car enthusiasts who actually have an interest in and know something about [performance] cars etc”
Classic 100% idiotic Wheelnut statement.
Which? is not an “international” car magazine for “real enthusiast”, but a general product/services testing and consumer advocacy magazine/website, equivalent to Australia’s “Choice”. Hardly “International” when it’s UK based, and this particular survey had 77,000 Uk drivers taking part.
I’m not belittling their results, just having a laugh at the one eyed fanatic!!
Tomas79,
How dare you to question Mr. Wheelnut – the most sophisticated car expert in CA?
You must be a toyota driver/owner!
Top quality car for the money in Oz.
Compare the interior features, fit and finish, etc with any offering from our friends at the Australian arm of Government Motors and you start to wonder what our tax payer dollars are used for.
They need to produce a new S2000 – that car was one little firecracker.
Tomas79 Says:
July 30th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Wheelnut®™, you are definitely missing a nut!!
Typical Chinese Driver and Tomas,nothing to bring to the conversation but insults. Always fighting. Oh and I fixed your spelling Tomas.
Yes my mate at work has a A3 and hates it, non stop problems.
I owned a VW Golf GTI for over 5 years, loved driving it, but what a heap of crap it was to keep it on the road, just as bad as my Jeep, yep they are solid, but that’s all, almost everything electrical went to God before it was 5 years old and then the mechanicals started to show signs and this car was well serviced and driven easily.
Luckily for me it got written off, so all of the “Ultra Expensive” repairs it needed were taken care of and I went out and bought a Honda on advice of a mate, that Honda lasted me 8 years and 230000 klm without any mechanical or other issues, it was painless, yet a little bit boring ownership experience, it didn’t have the sparkle of the Golf.
Now I am now onto my third Honda which drives better and its the same story, they are as my service mate describes “Ultra Reliable”, but, what they are like with 400000 on the clock and 10 years is any ones guess. If we get the scrappage rules, who cares.
For Honda, no complaints, painless ownership.
I do like VW designs, but I wouldn’t touch any VW Group cars under any circumstances, they trade on past glories and the reliability is very suspect especially over the longer term, they do literally fall apart and don’t kid yourself that its the older models, the newer ones are
even worse.
For long term Honda owners it obvious why they won in the UK.
Just in case everyone is wondering what the top 10 were;
The 10 most reliable cars
1. Honda Accord (2008-present) 98.5%
2. Honda Jazz (2008-present) 98.2%
3. Daihatsu Sirion (2005-present) 97.5%
4. Hyundai i30 (2007-present) 96.8%
5. Ford Fiesta (2008-present) 96.2%
6. Honda Jazz (2002-2008) 95.9%
7. Honda Civic Hybrid (2006-present) 95.7%
8. Citroen C1 (2005-present) 95.7%
9. Toyota Prius (2004-present) 95.0%
10. Mazda 3 (2004-2008) 94.4%
Knock yourselves out, Prius bashers! LOL!!!
And the worst;
112. Hyundai Santa Fe (2006-present) 82.2%
113. Jaguar S-type (1999-2007) 81.2%
114. Volvo XC90 (2002-present) 80.6%
115. Land Rover Freelander (2006-present) 80.1%
116. Ford S-Max (2006-present) 79.9%
117. Land Rover Discovery (2004-present) 79.5%
118. Alfa Romeo 159 (2006-present) 79.0%
119. Jaguar XF (2008-present) 78.0%
120. Ford Galaxy (2006-present) 76.3%
121. Audi A5 (2007-present) 75.8%
Ouch.
So price wise – Euro Accord versus the junk from Holden and Ford. Hmmmm, do people still wonder why the Oz car industry is in the gutter – its all about quality and customer satisfaction.
35,000 for the Honda Accord Euro
39,000 for the Holden Commodore
Good to see Honda win the award – in fact, Japanese cars dominate the top 10 accord to VW Freak’s info. In fact, why would you want to spend $$$$ on an A5 when you can get 2 Accord Euros (or even more)!!!
Proves that so call ‘European Cars are Better’ tagline is a complete old wives tale!!
Jester,
May I ask what kind of commodore are you comparing for 39000 to 35000? 60th anniversary for 33 000 drive away would be a more realistic comparision. Also you are comparing a rear wheel drive 6 cylinder too a fwd 4. Look at the price difference between an accord 4 cylinder and accord 6 cylinder. If you add the price difference between honda 4 cylinder and 6 onto the euro price the commodore is starting to look attractive.
The honda is a great car (when they dont ping their ass’ off)and the cup holder doesnt rattle when its open, and the handbrake doesnt need to be replaced at first service and the parcel shelf actually doesnt rattle. Also when Honda Australia and the dealer that you purchased this 45000 vehicle off make various excuses and reasons for the pinging, oh sorry Honda the ‘post-combustion detonation sound’they have not set themselves up for a very good company image.
However apart from all problems mentioned this is a great looking car, with a sweet transmission, decent chassis and good ride and handling( for an fwd), and a high revving high quality engine.
VW Freak thanks for taking the time to post the results…perhaps C/A could have incorporated the results into their story?
Well I have a 2001 VW Bora 4motion V6 and it has been the best car I have ever owned and my mother in law has a 2005 passat and its also been fautless. I will say the VW is dearer to service than my previous Falcons but I`d happily pay the extra for a far superior car. I personally think every car can have a problem of some sort regardless of its make, I`m pretty sure you could find plenty of bad experiences with owners of Honda`s too.
One thing to remember people – Jazz in Australia is built in Thailand thanks to our trade agreement. UK ones are Japanese. I bet the Thai crap wouldn’t be ranked 2nd.
Hondas are really bulletproof but seemed to be less thoughtfully made after the EK Civic era (96-00). The cars became ugly and boring. The current Euro is a product of a wake-up call. Classy, well-screwed and sophisticated, only lacking in performance especially in auto guise. If not for this, I’d strive harder for it to become my car.
Audis are just pretenders trying to compete with BMWs and Mercs. Unlike the latter two, if an Audi is replaced by a generation or two, its appeal is just lost. The first A4 had stunning looks when it came out, now it’s just ordinary. Hark back to let’s say an E36 3-Series and the spice is still there. The 4-circle brand is just a handsome, unreliable VW.
good point Robin Graves, people need to realise that the japanese built hondas ie(accord euro, odyssey) are up with the best for reliability/build quality!, the thai built stuff ie (jazz, crv) are not in the same class!!!
Good on Honda and its reliability. European cars are adding more sophisticated electronics and complexity in their cars. Hence there will always be reliability problems with those.
Its time the European cars to open their intellectual property vault and allow third party mechanics service their electronics. A mate of mine said non dealer mechanics do not have the right or the knowledge and expertise to service the more complex systems for mercs, bmws and audis. Its a monopoly.
It’s quite funny those Euros keep these things secret while they themselves can’t even do them right.
I’ve had 2 VW Golfs and other European cars as well as Toyotas and Subarus… all I can say is that I won’t buy another European car again, the Japanese kill them for real world quality and reliability. European cars generally look better and present as being more solid, but this is just skin deep, European cars simply are too much trouble in my experience.
I own an 08 Accord Euro, and whilst I’m generally happy with the car, it’s not without its faults. Continuously squeaking brakes (which the dealer views to be ‘normal’), trim which seems to wear a little too prematurely, and fuel economy higher than what Honda quote, take a little away from the overall experience. I’ve never owned a European car before, but might be worth a shot in the next year or two.
Im with Nick, Euros are not a dream to own when they start to go wrong and that’s during the warranty period. Honda’s dealerships here in OZ do let them down and the Thai built stuff has been and still will be problematic, sadly my Honda is the last one I will own, the “Made in Thailand” badge does make a difference.
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