A car reliability survey conducted by consumer magazine Which? has identified the Kia Picanto as the most reliable new car on sale.

Despite being one of the cheapest new cars on the market, with prices starting at £7,195, the little Kia beat every other car to the top spot with a customer satisfaction score of 98.1 per cent. And for the 1.9 per cent of people who experienced problems, the seven-year warranty provides an extra safety net.

However, Which? doesn’t recommend the Picanto due to its lack of safety features and a poor Euro NCAP crash test rating.

Instead the second-placed Mazda3 received the Which? Best Buy gong. We’d also recommend the Mazda3 by merit of its great refinement, good value and fun driving experience.

And for those looking for discreet thrills, the 155mph MPS is well worth a look.

The Mazda wasn’t the only Japanese car in the list, with seven making it into the top 10 list alongside the Korean Kia:

Most reliable new cars:
1 Kia Picanto – 98.1%
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2 Mazda3 – 97.6%
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=3 Daihatsu Sirion – 97.0%
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=3 Honda Insight – 97.0%
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5 Honda Jazz – 96.2%
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6 Toyota iQ – 96.1%
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7 Toyota Prius – 95.4%
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=8 Volkswagen Golf Plus – 93.3%
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=8 Mercedes-Benz SLK – 93.3%
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10 Mazda2 – 93.2%
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Top 10 most reliable gallery:

By Owen Ready