The ten best cars for students revealed

The ten best cars for students have been revealed as part of a study by Warranty Direct.

The UK-based warranty provider looked at its own data to find the ten best cars that tick the reliability and affordability boxes. It found the most reliable was the Peugeot 107, costing an average of £178.66 to repair and the largest claim on file was £348.64.

Second place was the Honda Jazz, which averaged an even lower £160.49 for repairs but had a higher maximum claim of £357.51 and is in insurance group 13 to 15 compared with the Pug 107’s three to five.

Third place went to the Micra, which managed to score an average repair bill of £138.38 but fell down on its insurance group 6 to 17 rating and a largest claim cost of £1,032.42.

Fourth and fifth place went to the Peugeot 1007 and Mazda 2, respectively. The former costed an average of £121.18 to repair and the largest claim was £279.83, while the latter averaged £172.31 and a top claim of £500.67.

Warranty Direct said the 107 topped the list because of its ‘highly dependable gearbox, braking and fuel system’, while the Jazz was said to be ‘extremely unlikely to break down’. The Micra, meanwhile, performed well because of its ‘trusty gearbox and braking system’.

Sneaking into the top ten was the Toyota Yaris, which managed an average repair bill of £303.15 although the largest repair bill recorded was an eye-watering £1,346.42. Even so, Warranty Direct still recommended it because of its group two insurance rating and general reliability.

Even though the Citroen C1 shares the same underlying platform as the 107, it managed seventh place, with an average repair cost of £313.28 and a maximum repair cost of £1,030.

Warranty Direct examined 50,000 live policies to generate the list as part of its Reliability Index, which measures overall reliability by combining rate of failure, average mileage, age and repair cost.

Warranty Direct managing director David Gerrans said: “As students from across the UK prepare to take the next step in their education and new found independence, choosing a reliable car to head to university with, will no doubt remove some of the worry about moving away from home felt by some.

“Stretching the budget is historically tricky for students with so many things to account for, however, selecting the right car will ensure undergraduates arrive at their new university digs without a hitch, or a hole in their bank account before the term has even started.”

The company previously revealed the ten most reliable cars in Europe.

Ten best cars for students

1. Peugeot 107
2. Honda Jazz
3. Nissan Micra
4. Peugeot 1007
5. Mazda 2
6. Fiat Panda
7. Citroen C1
8. Seat Ibiza
9. Ford Fusion
10. Toyota Yaris