Volvo and Kia are the most RELIABLE used cars in the UK

The J.D. Power 2017 UK Vehicle Dependability Study has revealed that Volvo and Kia are the most reliable used car buys in the UK. But avoid most ‘Premium’ cars.

Every year the J.D. Power survey get feedback from 12,000 owners of cars aged 1-3 years to find how just how satisfied they are with their ownership experience. And the findings can be fascinating.

It seems that ‘Premium’ cars often do badly in the survey because their owners have higher expectations. Which seems reasonable as they’ve spent a chunk more money.

That perhaps explains why the bottom of the 2017 list is propped up by BMW, Audi and Land Rover, with moans about their cars running at twice the rate of the best.

With that logic in mind, it’s equally no surprise to find mainstream Kia, with its seven-year warranty, right at the top of the satisfaction list, with Skoda, Suzuki, Hyundai and Toyota just behind. But there is one anomaly if you buy the ‘Premium’ car argument. Volvo.

In 2015 Volvo topped the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey, and despite Jaguar at 14th and Mercedes at 15th in the list being the best ‘Premium’ car results, Volvo has joined Kia as joint winner for 2017.

A few years ago you could have argued that Volvo aren’t really a ‘Premium’ car maker, but sat in a void between mainstream and Premium. But no more.

With the arrival of the Volvo XC90, the S90, V90, V90 Cross Country and new Volvo XC60, Volvo really are building properly premium cars, and premium cars offering their very own take on the genre.

So this year’s J.D. Power Survey has clearly declared the most dependable used mainstream car as a Kia, and the most dependable premium car a Volvo.