Statistically speaking, some cars break down more than others. The ADAC now lists the most vulnerable and the least problematic models.
The ADAC breakdown helpers had to call out around 3,4 million times last year. Some car models needed a lot of help, others barely appear in the statistics. An overview.
Microcar:
The Toyota Aygo performed best over all years of construction. Especially the models before 2016 shone. At the end of the ranking are Smart Fortwo and Forfour, which were particularly negative from the year of construction 2015.
Small car:
The automobile club lists ten top models in the small car class. The Audi A1, Citroen C3, Fiat Punto, Honda Jazz, Mazda CX-3, Mini, Mitsubishi Space Star, Peugeot 2008, Renault Captur and Skoda Fabia had noticeably few breakdowns. The Opel Meriva and Hyundai i20 attracted negative attention. In the case of the latter, however, this only applies to years of construction before 2016.
Compact class:
In the golf segment, VW's bestseller is not in the top group, but there are some close relatives such as the Audi A3 and Q3, Seat Leon and VW Beetle as well as the somewhat more distant cousin Skoda Rapid. There are also BMW 2 Series, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes A-Class, CLA and GLA and Mitsubishi ASX. The flops include older Kia Ceed and Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, Opel Astra, Renault Kangoo and Scénic.
Middle class:
German models dominate the company car class. According to the statistics, the lowest risk of breakdowns is the Audi A4, A5 and Q5, BMW 3, 4 and X3, Mercedes C-Class, GLC and GLK and the Volvo XC60. At the lower end of the ranking are Opel Insignia and the Vans Ford S-Max, VW Sharan and Seat Alhambra.
Upper middle class:
The business segment is also clearly in German hands, also due to the lack of foreign competition on the market. The Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series received positive mention, while the Mercedes E-Class appeared in the flop category. For her, poor results in the years of construction 2011 and 2012 in particular are spoiling the overall picture.
A total of 109 models from 25 car brands were evaluated for the breakdown statistics. 40 series were quite reliable, around half of the vehicles showed mixed results. 16 models performed particularly poorly.
The breakdown statistics of the ADAC do not allow absolute quality judgments about certain model series, but show indications and tendencies. One of the most important distorting factors is the fact that some manufacturers have their own breakdown services. Often as part of a mobility guarantee that applies to the first few years of a new car. Your vehicles are then not listed in the ADAC statistics. In addition, high-priced models are generally likely to perform better statistically than cheap models because their owners can or want to invest more in care and maintenance. In addition, such cars park more often in garages, which among other things makes them less sensitive to cold-related battery failures - one of the main reasons for using ADAC. A cheap car that is well maintained by its owner can therefore be just as reliable in individual cases as a model from an expensive brand. Anyone planning to buy a car should therefore not only rely on breakdown statistics, but also consult other sources.