Australia’s worst cars: The popular brands named for reliability issues

Last year you loved our worst car list.

So, like Australia’s Richest 250, the World’s Richest Self-Made Women and the Top 50 Porn Sites, we have made it an annual event.

Here are five driving experiences that give new meaning to the word shitbox.

MG cars

Were one of the 10 best-selling cars in Australia in 2025 but sales are slipping this year.

MG ZS EV Long Range.

The soap dodger land’s biggest car-buying brand, What Car?, says: “Forty-three per cent of the MG ZS EVs in our survey had problems, according to owners, and 82 per cent of broken cars were in the workshop for more than a week. The air-con system and the 12-volt battery were the main culprits, but there were also issues with the drive battery/charging, various non-motor electrical systems and the bodywork.”

Apart from that, all good. Well, except for the MG HS: issues with the DCT transmission and some recalls, including a fire risk fix for the plug-in hybrid model. No need for a Bunnings BBQ then.

Jeep Grand Cherokee (and friends)

Jeep’s consistency in terms of crookness is an example to all other brands.

The luxurious 2023 model Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Most bad car lists feature the Grand Cherokee and older Jeeps near the top of all crook cars, citing electrical faults, drivetrain issues and repair costs that would embarrass a German luxury brand – except BMW.

Resale reflects the quality. Good for a test drive. Ownership, particularly post-warranty, not so good.

Any brand with Rover in the name (and the premium tech trap)

Like Jeep, Land Rover’s and Range Rover’s place near the bottom of reliability tables is one of those things that never change. One of the Tata Group’s premium brands (Jaguar is the other, although I did see a few of their Tata Daewoos, Neons and Punches outside Freshwaters in Peppermint Grove last Saturday): the Landy’s and Rangey’s complexity makes them difficult to repair, “often resulting in long shop visits and higher running costs than other brands” like Lexus or Porsche.

Land Rover Defender. Picture: Supplied

JD Power’s latest dependability data shows cars getting less dependable, with premium brands – especially those loaded with tech – performing worst. That’s bad news if your car relies on air suspension, multiple screens and constant software updates.

As the old saying goes: The badge says adventure. The data says tow truck.

The same problem is now spreading across high-end electric models. The more features, the more things to go wrong – and the more expensive those problems become once the warranty ends.

Luxury used to mean fewer compromises, now it just means more expensive ones.

Kia EV6 and EV9

Consumer Reports collects reliability data from more than 380,000 vehicles a year. Its 2026 survey puts both EV6 and EV9 in the 10 least reliable cars on sale, with predicted reliability scores in the mid-20s out of 100 and a warning that they are less reliable than the average new car.

The Kia EV9 Air.

The trouble spots are battery and charging systems, electronics, software and in-car infotainment. Add that to Kia’s recent history of large-scale fire-risk and brake-system recalls on its petrol models.

“Consumer Reports asked Hyundai and Kia about how they will address the ICCU (manages high-voltage battery charging) issues. Both brands say that they continue to work on the problem and some affected cars have already been recalled and repaired.”

Chinese cars

2025 Jaecoo J8. Picture: Supplied

Finally, a category: any electric car with a badge your neighbours can’t pronounce, imported by a company you’ve never heard of. Like Omoda, Jaecoo, Hozon Neta, Forthing, HiPhi, and Landwind, Ora Lightning Cat, Little Horse and Tank.

China sold 34.4m vehicles last year. Europe and the USA sold about 18m vehicles each. So, Australia is flooded with new Chinese brands offering strong value on day one. The risk is day 1,001.

Best seller, BYD, gets more than $6bn a year in both direct financial aid and indirect aid from the Chinese Government. Remember Abbo and Joe famously dared manufacturers to leave Australia by cutting subsidies and saying they wouldn’t provide more funding, prompting Toyota, Ford, and Holden to end local production. How good is hollowing out?

There’s a shakeout coming in China’s EV market. Weak brands will shut up shop and exit the Australian market. When that happens, owners will be left with orphan cars: slow or no parts supply, uncertain warranty backing and no resale. BYD will be one of the winners.

To prove big money can still make bad cars, we cross to Formula 1, where Aston Martin’s 2026 car is making a strong case for worst machine on any grid.

The team struggled from the start, missing mileage and fighting vibration and reliability issues so severe drivers couldn’t consistently use full power. Even when they could, the car was slower everywhere – into corners, through them and out of them. Good news: you can’t buy one.

Of course, you can see the AMR26 in lack of action in Miami on Kayo this weekend. But the real news is that the sooky la-las at F1 have banned the boost function because the track may be wet. Bigger news is that the first race of the season won’t be in St Kilda anymore. Bahrain will go back to the first spot on the calendar.

Anyway, normally I would have the top end on Sunday as Anto, Gorgeous George, JP, Leaping Lando, Chuck and Hamo. If we have serious rain put the house on Mad Max.