Best of British

The UK has a rich history when it comes to building cars thanks to iconic brands such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterham, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren and Rolls Royce, to name but a few.

Collectively these and other manufacturers directly employ over 150,000 people and a further 800,000+ in the supply chain in the UK, producing around 1.5 million cars and 85,000 commercial vehicles per annum.

This car building tradition looks set to continue for many years to come, not only thanks to the presence of these premium players, but also to the volume that vehicle manufacturers such as Honda, Mini, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall, who call Britain home, build so many of the cars that we drive on the road today.  

But which of their best-selling British built models costs the least and the most on average when something goes wrong, particularly those big-ticket items such as brake discs and pads, cambelts and clutches?

WhoCanFixMyCar is here to help. We’ve analysed the data from the last 12 months to give you an insight into which models really are the Best of British cost-wise when it comes to those all-important repairs.

Vauxhall Corsa

Toyota Corolla

Nissan Qashqai

Honda Civic

MINI Hatchback

Range Rover Evoque

Jaguar XE

Vauxhall Corsa

If you’re the owner of a Vauxhall Corsa then you can breathe a huge sigh of relief. The best-selling Corsa, which has been gracing our roads for over 30 years, was the clear winner when it came to the average cost of repairs, particularly for things such as replacing the cambelt.

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla gave the Vauxhall Corsa a run for its money when it came to the average cost of repairs, with the Corolla, which is Latin for ‘little crown’, only letting itself it down with the cost of brake pad and disc replacement.

Nissan Qashqai

It’s easy to see why the Nissan Qashqai is one of the UK’s favourite SUVs. It looks good, it drives well, and based on our Best of British data, it also won’t set you back the earth when it comes to replacing brakes, cambelts or clutches.

Did you know?

Until the 1950’s the UK was the world’s second largest car manufacturer in the world. Today, it's twelfth!

Honda Civic

While the Honda Civic is scheduled to no longer be built at the company’s plant in Swindon, there is no doubting its popularity with UK motorists who continue to be impressed by its overall reliability together with value for money. It costs just under £100 a year more on average to repair across our three categories than our winner, the Vauxhall Corsa, which isn’t bad at all.

MINI Hatchback

Ask anyone around the world to name one British-built car and you can guarantee it will be the MINI. A car like no other, it’s retained its quirkiness (and sense of fun) to this day. Unfortunately, that uniqueness does come at a price, namely the average cost of certain repairs, with prices sadly rivalling those of premium models such as the Range Rover Evoque. 

Range Rover Evoque

The Range Rover Evoque was a game changer for Land Rover. Historically, their SUVs were always what you would call ‘ruggedly handsome’. That all changed thanks to the Evoque which ushered in a whole new look and feel for the brand that you see replicated in the Defender, Discovery and others. Range Rovers aren’t cheap to buy, nor are they clearly cheap to repair based on our average prices, even when it comes to the entry-level Evoque.

Jaguar XE

Bringing up the rear in our Best of British run down is the Jaguar XE. A joy to drive, its only downside is the average repair cost for brake pads and discs, cambelts and clutches, which are a little on the pricey side, particularly the latter.

Congratulations to the Vauxhall Corsa for taking the top spot in our Best of British list. For more advice on how to save money as a driver, click here.