Just received the latest Which magazine car guide [ February 2021] and the most reliable older car is the 2005 - 2015 MX5. Not a single owner in this category reported their car breaking down . Add this to the fact that the MX5 was the most reliable car under 3 years old and quite clearly we all made the right decision when purchasing our MX5.
Out of interest the Toyota Verso came second and the Honda Jazz third. Least reliable were the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso [2007-2013] the Volkswagen Golf Estate [2007 - 2013] and the Nissan Qashqai [2007-2013]
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Mine is a 2018 ND2, so hopefully this continuesā¦ 
Not surprised.
Neither our 93 Mk1 or 2002 Sport have ever failed to start or finish a journey bar a puncture or 3 over 15 years with a collective 90-odd thousand miles. Remarkable really.
Plenty other problems aged ārelated issuesā though!
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Iāve loved my reliable MX5s, in 15 years of ownership (2 x Mk1s, 1 Mk2.5 and now a Mk3) Iāve only had cause to call a breakdown service once and that was because of a blown fuse in my first Mk1 that caused my instruments to pack up on the way down to Dover to get a ferry and that was promptly fixed.
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Had a mk 1 , mk 2 and getting a mk 3 and done nothing but basic stuff like tyres etc. Canāt fault them. Unlike my rusty Landy Defender.
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In 7 years ownership, Iāve replaced a broken window switch unit, a door lock actuator and the thermostat. Apart from leaky grommets all other stuff have been mods or service items.
Not bad for 74k miles and 13 years old.
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The report means nothing unless they divulge the same size.
3 years ago
Though this was for 3 year old cars in 2017, which covers 2014. So as they get older, do they get ore reliable, or other cars catch them up. Or maybe none of these surveys mean anything, and really, you have to analyse MOT files for an objective view.
I take no notice of these surveys, one way or the other.
For cars up to 3 years old, a report on the number of repairs required under warranty should be a trustworthy source.
But indeed the results differ depending on who is publishing them. 
The source of the information used by Which is from owners who subscribe to Which magazine and complete their annual car survey so reasonably independent and from actual owners .
Grumble mode on.
Iāve filled this in a few times, and each time I thought the questions were inadequate and somehow often missed the cost/bother point. They did not seem to focus on the areas I would have looked at when buying a car (with my long experience of choosing āwiselyā and nursing cars to an economical and ripe old age).
The detail questions are aimed at people who have the car on PCP and switch it at three years. ALL cars last three years many without a problem, most last ten years with some repairs, few make fifteen and hardly any reach twenty if used normally.
The long term reliability questions are very few and mostly weirdly irrelevant. I wrote on the forms pointing out how to make them more relevant for people thinking about buying a car of an age - focus on what are the most expensive things that go wrong.
But nothing seems to change, so I assume the questions are written by consultants who are too close to the manufacturers, and less thinking like jaded consumers trying to save a few pennies by buying a reliable cheap old car.
Grumble mode off.
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āIf only everything was as reliable as a Golfā.
What, you mean weād all be walking?
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And monumentally boring tooā¦!
Iāve had 5 Mazdas. The first introduction was my 97 MX5 that I still have. That persuaded me to go with the eternal flame for the āfamilyā car. An 08 2.0 petrol 6 estate. 13 1.6 petrol 3, 19 2.0 petrol 3, and now a 20 1.6 petrol 2 automatic. No need for much space now and our 1996 Toyota Granvia 3.0Td auto made me lazy when driving not for pleasure. Never had a breakdown in a recent Mazda other than a flat battery on the first 3 when about 4 years old.
The NA has never broken down away from home. The alternator seized up on my drive and itās had a new cat , suspension spring etc. at MoT time occasionally. To be expected at 126000.
It keeps soldiering on. Tempted by a Mk4, but Iāve heard a few rumours of electrical issues. As a classic Italian bike owner Iāve got enough of them to worry about as it is 
ND electrical issues? Interested to hear what they might be as I havenāt picked up on that so far.
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Overheard on the Mazda stand at the Annual Rally in 2019. An owner complaining his car had let him down, though I suspect it may have been just a flat (a little under specified ?) battery. As that has been mentioned elsewhere. Parasitic drain on modern cars is not confined to MX5s, but the lightweight battery is a factor. Some talk of closing the roof with the engine off.
My old NA has a Westco battery and is fine, but has zero parasitic drain. Our 2020 2 seems OK left for 3 weeks in lockdown. Iām used to motorcycles with tiny batteries needing to be put on a tender if not used regularly, but I wouldnāt want a car that couldnāt stand for at least 2/3 weeks without flattening the battery.
A small battery rather than a systemic set of electrical problems though.
FWIW through my now 5th winter of owning ND ST cars I have never had a battery discharge issue despite living in North East Scotland which does mean periods of not being used. Together with all vehicles in the household they do get cared for on a regular basis to keep them healthy and available.
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Completely agree,We have a 2007 NC and itās never failed to start,whistled through the MOT this year,my neighbours with far newer cars are most envious 
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My 96/7 NA has done 105k with five different owners before me. Sills classic bad and bodged by others. Stood outside for a couple of years while I wondered what to do with it (itās getting a ridiculous uneconomic throw money at proper restorers job if you are wondering)
Part of the reason itās getting this treatment is when deciding thumbs up or thumbs down, I charged up the flat battery, put some fuel in it from a can, turned the key and it fired as soon as fuel made it down the line - which wasnāt long at all. It ticked over at 2k but then settled down after 2mins and it seems to be running fine even under load. All the electrics worked including playing the cd in the CD player. Even the clutch was fine and the brakes released no bother.
I donāt know any other car in the world that would do that.
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Totally agree, I have done a lot miles in all of mine over the years. Starting with my red MK1, Mk2ās, Mk3.75 and my Mk4 and concur they are ultra reliable! No matter what the weather is like, road conditions, they just keep rolling. As long as the basics are checked, oil, coolant and air in the tyres, which goes for any vehicle, they are simply āa car apartā!
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