The most reliable cars of all time.

Jimmy Garlic

What cars would make your list?. My list would have to include the Avensis TD, a real workhorse if ever there was one, ditto its predecessor the Carina TD and the 1.6 xli. Also on my list would be the mk III Fiesta 1.8D and the mark I Citroen Xsara Hdi (never let me down).

vectra

Mk1 escort

166man

Toyota Carina both petrol and diesel models

Mercedes W124 I think wre good as well.

Toyota Corolla.

There's so many and I'd say this thread has been done before...

dgt

/thread :pac:

billbee

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

What cars would make your list?. My list would have to include the Avensis TD, a real workhorse if ever there was one, ditto its predecessor the Carina TD and the 1.6 xli. Also on my list would be the mk III Fiesta 1.8D and the mark I Citroen Xsara Hdi (never let me down).

VW passat red TDI highline model all the bells and whistles inc parking sensors 04 now 268 k miles seriously fast and still runs on a smell of diesel ..

mike65

Mercedes Benz w123 3.0 taxi

Corrolla's, Carina's, diesel Passat's, 90's/early 00's Micra's, 323's...

PaulKK

MK3 TDI Golf, Diesel Vento. As already mentioned, W124.

Cavanjack

Mark 2 diesel jetta

JAMES VTI S

toyota starlet
ford fiesta

johnos1984

dr.fuzzenstein

mike65 wrote: »

Mercedes Benz w123 3.0 taxi

I'm pretty sure the taxis where all 200's and 240's, 300 was far too fancy.
They're still found in action around Africa, along with the stacked headlamp variety.

ABEasy

Carina, beetle & type 2 vw van

biko

Old model Toyota, Mercedes, Volvo.

unkel

The top of reliability is a very well put together car (that doesn't rust) with EFI but very little else electronic in it. That limits us to an early to mid 90s cars. Even petrol cars can be very reliable. Good examples of very reliable petrol cars are Micra K11 (timing chain!), Mercedes W124, Mazda 626 2l petrol, Toyotas - especially with the 1.3 petrol

Tazio

1995-ish Toyota Corrola 2.0 oil burner

1992 Mazda MX5.

1972 VW Beetle 1300

TestTransmission

billbee wrote: »

V seriously fast and still runs on a smell of diesel ..

We're talking about reliability here fella not ye lucky people with your rocketships :pac:

Mr.Success

SDI Ventos, Toyota Avensis & Carina

BrianD3

I would say the Aygo/C1/107 as it is both modern and relatively simple.

Re: the Merc W124 and arguments along the lines of "they don't build em like they used to", IMO that is rose tinted thinking. The Mercedes W124 was a reliable car relative to others at the time - but times change. In its day it was more reliable than Fords and Fiats of the same era but then again it should have been as it was a very expensive car both new and used.

Also its longevity and reliability can be partly attributed to these high used values as they meant the car was worth maintaining and worth fixing when it went wrong.

TrailerBob

Toyota Landcruiser.... Anything Pre 05.. indestructible. They just don't break. Know of a few with over half a million miles. Mine has 170,000 on it and has only had a shock, two bushes and a clutch replaced in all those...outside of routine items like brakes.

Also agree on the VW Beetle, the old air cooled would start and run on two cylinders!!

Saab Ed

billbee wrote: »

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

What cars would make your list?. My list would have to include the Avensis TD, a real workhorse if ever there was one, ditto its predecessor the Carina TD and the 1.6 xli. Also on my list would be the mk III Fiesta 1.8D and the mark I Citroen Xsara Hdi (never let me down).

VW passat red TDI highline model all the bells and whistles inc parking sensors 04 now 268 k miles seriously fast and still runs on a smell of diesel ..

Did you just say "seriously fast" . Serious turbo lag, then a serious short unleashing of the seriously not to impressive power delivered severely because of a seriously peaky torque curve. Seriously deceptive if you've never driven anything with serious power before leaving some VAG drivers seriously deluded but seriously fast a TDI is not.

dgt

Saab Ed wrote: »

Did you just say "seriously fast" . Serious turbo lag, then a serious short unleashing of the seriously not to impressive power delivered severely because of a seriously peaky torque curve. Seriously deceptive if you've never driven anything with serious power before leaving some VAG drivers seriously deluded but seriously fast a TDI is not.

Stall the digger it is a



:pac:

shamwari

I've had a few Opels & Vauxhall's that had the Isuzu 1.5 / 1.7TD engines and they were utterly bulletproof. Great cars, fast, economical and very very reliable. They don't make them like they used to.

Also Old Toyota Corolla / Startlet XL's and XLI's from 87-91 and 92-97 respectively. These would last indefinitely if looked after. I know someone that scrapped a 92 Starlet for a Yaris on the scrappage deal last year. The Starlet only had 45K miles on it and looked / ran perfectly. Shameful....:mad:

-Corkie-

Old Corollas or Carinas. Great cars.

XUD powered stuff

mondeo

'Made in Japan'

unkel

BrianD3 wrote: »

Re: the Merc W124 and arguments along the lines of "they don't build em like they used to", IMO that is rose tinted thinking. The Mercedes W124 was a reliable car relative to others at the time - but times change. In its day it was more reliable than Fords and Fiats of the same era but then again it should have been as it was a very expensive car both new and used.

You're being a bit dismissive there. Granted the W124 was very expensive both new and used (not anymore though now), but you can't deny it was built to a superior engineering standard, never before or since seen on any car. The last time I sat in one, it had a million kilometers on the clock. Original engine and gearbox.

Voodoomelon

^^ They soon copped onto the fact though that there was no money in "quality".

unkel

Or in other words, the accountants took over. And that in itself is rather unfair to accountants. It was much more to do with the take over (others call it merger :rolleyes:) of Chrysler and adopting the American way of providing short term maximum return for shareholders. Sad to see the decline of one of the proudest car makers (and remember Benz himself invented the car 125 years ago)

wex96

'99 skoda octavia 1.6, still worked after been put on its side.

dr.fuzzenstein

If Clarkson can't kill it, it has to be the winner:

gyppo

my two penneth......

Curly Judge

It was very hard to find the bottom of a Renault 12.
They seem to have forgotten how to build cars after that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8hzsRyf0Kw&feature=related

pajo1981

I can't help but think that the unreliability of modern stuff is slightly over stated.

My 320d is pushing 90k miles/150k kms, has more technology in its steering wheel that what makes up some of the junk post on here, and yet, depite what people will tell you, has yet to have a fault.

And I don't just mean, 'has been faultless bar... [insert list of faults]'.

fonecrusher1

90's Honda civics. Utterly bulletproof reliabity. In my opinion nothing matches these unstoppable mechanical marvels.

Feed these things oil & the other various service items & they will go on & on year after year without fault.

brembo26

kupus

mondeo wrote: »

'Made in Japan'

just for arguments sake Datsun;)

pajo1981 wrote: »

I can't help but think that the unreliability of modern stuff is slightly over stated.
My 320d is pushing 90k miles/150k kms, has more technology in its steering wheel that what makes up some of the junk post on here, and yet, depite what people will tell you, has yet to have a fault.

And I don't just mean, 'has been faultless bar... [insert list of faults]'.

Maybe its about ease of access working on the engine, a lot less electronics which complicate things,
a lot of older cars eg my panda is easy enough for me to do small jobs on, before I got it I hadnt a clue about engines, I still dont but Ive changed a fuel thingy bob, (I still dont know the words for these things) and opened the engine and put in a new seal. changed oil and flters, sparks.........

Im fairly confident that I can mess around the engine now, and that there would only be a few screws left over after I put it back:) but if I looked into a newer engine, well I might as well be trying to understand quantum physics.
first off I'd be afraid if I disconnected battery what codes are lost, and thats just the beginning.
ANYWAY BOT........




Renault 4 is held in real high regard in these parts, people refer to them as the workhorse. and apparently the third highest selling car of all time.

Thatnastyboy

Just going by personal experiences,

Toyota Carina II - petrol and diesel
Toyota Carina E - again petrol & diesel. leanburn 1.6 is a marvel.

Anything with the 4efe 1.3 engine - i.e 92-97 corollas & starlets, simple basic cars but will take awful hardship and never let ya down.

K11 micras - speak for themselves

Peugeot & Citroen diesel engines - inc straight diesels, dturbos and hdi, great engines imo.

The father had a Peugeot 305 grd years ago and it was regularly seen pulling 1.5 to 2 tonnes of turf out of the bog a couple of times a day. I doubt the car ever even saw a service but never gave a days trouble.

shawnee

unkel wrote: »

You're being a bit dismissive there. Granted the W124 was very expensive both new and used (not anymore though now), but you can't deny it was built to a superior engineering standard, never before or since seen on any car. The last time I sat in one, it had a million kilometers on the clock. Original engine and gearbox.

The corollas and carinas in the 90s were virtually mechanically brilliant and the engines and gearboxes would last forever. They start effortlessly and were it not for the "tiger" and the scrappage there would still be loads of them around. The bodywork on them was a bit tinny and the the inside plasticy. The 123 merc was a brilliant and reliable car , the engines would run forever . I have a 78 123 and it amazes me how the electric windows and power steering , central locking etc still works. Many of the modern cars will still drive but the electrics fu.. up and youre left with a good engine and body but the feckin car won't drive.:D Progress me arse

I Was VB

Slidey

MK2 1.6 diesel Golf.

They are the definition of K.I.S.S.

My sister pulled the sump bung clean out of the one she had and drove 2 miles home and announced some light was on before throwing the keys at me. Welded the sump up and it still ran as good as ever.

The successor was good too but had the starts of technology creeping in IMO it was downhill from there.. Still have a Golf 13 years later

macker64

262000 miles and has never put a foot wrong. Starts first time every time and pulls like a train!!
One of the select few "built to last" mercs before the accountants took over the running of Mercedes Benz!!

Seweryn

LIGHTNING wrote: »

VW Beetle, none of this fancy water cooling malarkey to worry about. They can be used in all environments without having to prepare them be it snow,sand you name it plus they can float quite nicely in case you really get in trouble

Absolutely . I used to drive one for many years as my only car. I bought it when it was already 25 years old with its engine being occasionally taken out and put into a van to do heavy work, when in hands of the previous owner. It never let me down during my 12-year ownership. It was driven in the snow at -25 deg C as well as in +40 deg C in the very hot summer days. She was always ready and happy to take a trip or a long journey. I miss the simplicity and reliability of that car. And the whistle sound. It can't be missed!

And there she is :

L-M

unkel wrote: »

The top of reliability is a very well put together car (that doesn't rust) with EFI but very little else electronic in it. That limits us to an early to mid 90s cars. Even petrol cars can be very reliable. Good examples of very reliable petrol cars are Micra K11 (timing chain!), Mercedes W124, Mazda 626 2l petrol, Toyotas - especially with the 1.3 petrol

Limerick man

Limerick man wrote: »

Not much point being reliable if the car is confined to the scrappies with tin worm before it's 6 years old I imagine is the point being made, a good one too in fairness.

bodonnell

Currently driving my 4th Subaru, Impreza 2.0 N/A, Impreza 2.0 Turbo, Forester 2.0 Turbo & now Forester 2.5 Turbo. None of these cars have ever let me down, just regular servicing. Running costs are fairly high but hassle free motoring in the reliability stakes.

BostonB

People have mentioned Mk2 /Mk3 Golfs & Jettas. Can't agree with that, we had a good few of them, some with well over 100k miles on them. While they did big mileages for us, they certain had a lot more work done on them than the Jap cars we've had. Honda, CRX, K11 Micra,, Carina's etc. which needed nothing, other than servicing, or if something wore out over time.

For example. I've changed the rear bulbs on our current VW about 3 times in 2 or 3 years. In 11yrs I don't think I ever changed a bulb on the micra, recently had to, as the indicators had faded from orange to clear, and failed the NCT because of it.

In the VW's we've had to replace (in different cars), door locks, heater matrix, (recalled), ABS unit, fuel pumps, steering column, lots of odd bits like thats. The Mk2 Golfs (GTI) and Jetta diesels were my favorite cars, but not the most reliable we've owned by a long way.

Eric Cartman

3.1 trooper , mk4 hilux

alias no.9

macker64 wrote: »

262000 miles and has never put a foot wrong. Starts first time every time and pulls like a train!!
One of the select few "built to last" mercs before the accountants took over the running of Mercedes Benz!!

The title doesn't copy with the post but this is probably the first time I've heard the W210 described in these terms, usually its mentioned as the answer to where it all went wrong for MB. Granted, the 300TD lump is a carryover from the W124. I'm wondering if there's some kind of nostalgia growing for it as it slips from contemporary daily driver status?

wendell borton

macker64

The 300 Turbodiesel is indeed a carryover from the W124 and what an engine it is!!
The early W210's were really very well put together and the engines were generally bombproof once maintained correctly.
From about 00 things started to go badly wrong for MB. The W211 which replaced the W210 looked great, however the reliability and build quality were not up to the usual MB standards and the CDI diesel engines and the petrol Kompressor engines gave lots of problems.