Warranty Direct has named its Top Ten most reliable family cars based on the latest data from its Reliability Index website.

The Mitsubishi Lancer (2005-2008) secured the overall top spot but Honda took the notional manufacturer's crown by claiming four of the top ten positions.

The Reliability Index analyses 50,000 live Warranty Direct policies on three to eight-year old vehicles to determine the overall reliability of a car as well as identifying which parts are most prone to failure.
  
The Lancer came out on top as the most reliable family car with typically less than an hour spent off the road for repairs and an average repair cost of £69. 

The Honda Insight came in second, but due to a high number of reported issues occurring with its axle and suspension, the repair costs are more than double those of the Mitsubishi, averaging around £137.
 
Japanese models dominated the standings. In fact, the only non-Japanese cars to enter the top ten were the Mercedes-Benz CLC [family car? -ed] which came in third and the Hyundai i30 in seventh place.

The least reliable family car was the Skoda Superb, due in part to the large number of reported issues occurring with its engine (30%). Repair times were around 3 hours and repair costs averaged around £578.
 
Speaking about the latest results Philip Ward, COO of Warranty Direct commented:
 
“Families demand a lot from their cars and need vehicles that won’t let them down. Mitsubishi’s success in the reliability rankings is chiefly down to low failure rates and when things go wrong, they are cheaper to fix. It’s imperative for buyers to consider reliability when purchasing a used family car. Manufacturers demonstrating their cars are durable and cheaper to maintain will continue to be the most popular choices amongst buyers.”

The top ten most reliable family cars are listed below:

1. Mitsubishi Lancer (05-08)
2. Honda Insight
3. Mercedes-Benz CLC 
4. Honda Accord (08-)
5. Honda Civic (00-06)
6. Toyota Prius (03-09)
7. Hyundai i30
8. Nissan Almera
9. Honda Civic (06-)
10. Toyota Prius (09-)

More information is available on the Reliability Index website.