Land Rover finishes last in reliability survey

Almost half the cars made by the British firm needed repairs in the past two years - the worst of 30 marques on the road - according to figures from What Car? magazine and the Warranty Direct company. The most unreliable Land Rovers were Freelanders built between 1997 and 2000, which had a breakdown rate of 55 per cent.

Overall, Land Rover's failure rate was 45 per cent, compared with Rover (40 per cent) and Ford (36 per cent).

The most reliable European manufacturer was the Czech brand Skoda, which is part of the Volkswagen group. Only a quarter of its cars broke down.

Overall, Japanese cars were the most reliable; just 9 per cent of Hondas needed repairs, while Mazda and Toyota also performed well.

Steve Fowler, group editor for What Car? said more recent Land Rovers may be more reliable.