You may have found the right car for your lifestyle and your budget, but how can you be sure you’ll still be smiling once you’re running the car on a day-to-day basis?
That’s where other owners come in, so highly respected UK magazine What Car? teamed up with survey experts JD Power to bring you detailed feedback from more than 15,562 motorists (58 per cent male and 42 per cent female) on their cars, which had been driven for 331 million miles collectively, The results may surprise you.
The best model emerging from the survey was the Volkswagen up! and the worst was the Chevrolet Spark.
And the best brands were Jaguar and Lexus, which Chevrolet was the worst brand.
All Brands ranked overall:
Rank Brand Score
= 1 Lexus 80.8%
= 1 Jaguar 80.8%
3 Mercedes-Benz 80.1%
4 Skoda 80.0%
5 Volkswagen 79.1%
6 Honda 78.9%
7 Volvo 78.4%
8 Toyota 77.9%
= 9 Kia 77.8%
= 9 Mazda 77.8%
The worst performing brand was Chevrolet.
All Models ranked overall:
Rank Model Score
1 Volkswagen Up! 85.1%
2 Volkswagen Golf Plus 84.3%
3 Škoda Yeti 82.8%
4 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 82.0%
5 Volkswagen Scirocco 81.9%
6 Volkswagen Tiguan 81.7%
= 7 Lexus CT 81.2%
= 7 Škoda Octavia 81.2%
= 7 Volvo V70/ XC70 81.2%
10 Jaguar XF 80.8%
See below why the Volkswagen up! won Best Car!
The worst model was the Chevrolet Spark.
City cars ranked overall:
Ranking Model Score
overall
1 Volkswagen Up! 85.1%
61 Hyundai i10 77.0%
65 Toyota Aygo 76.9%
68 Kia Picanto 76.8%
= 91 Fiat Panda 74.6%
= 91 Peugeot 107 74.6%
97 Fiat 500 74.1%
100 Citroën C1 73.2%
102 smart fortwo 72.8%
105 Ford Ka 71.7%
Why the car won the Best City Car?
Easy to drive – good visibility makes driving the Up a doodle.
Fuel efficient – its low running costs are one of the Up’s most appealing features.
The worst City car was the Chevrolet Spark.
Small cars ranked overall:
Ranking Model Score
overall
21 DS3 (From Citroen) 79.3%
= 40 Mazda 2 78.3%
= 40 Škoda Fabia 78.3%
= 44 Audi A1 78.2%
= 44 Toyota Yaris 78.2%
46 MINI Hatch/
Clubman/Convertible 78.1%
= 53 Ford Fiesta 77.6%
= 53 Suzuki Swift 77.6%
56 Hyundai i20 77.4%
59 Volkswagen Polo 77.1%
Why the DS3 won Best Small Car?
Design – owners love the way their cars look
Running costs – all running costs are lower than average
The worst small car was the Alfa Romeo MiTo.
MPVs ranked overall:
Ranking Model Score
overall
12 Volkswagen Touran 80.4%
14 Ford C-Max/ Grand C-Max 80.2%
19 Peugeot 3008 79.5%
46 Toyota Verso 78.1%
51 Renault Scénic/Grand Scénic 77.7%
79 Citroën C4 Picasso 75.9%
80 Ford S-Max 75.6%
84 Vauxhall Zafira 75.0%
85 Ford Galaxy 74.9%
93 Citroën Berlingo 74.5%
Why the Volkswagen Touran won the Best MPV?
Practicality – all the seats can be folded individually
Boot – large and easy to load
The worst was the Citroen Berlingo, but not far behind some big names.
Other class winners included:
Best Small Family Car – Volkswagen Golf Plus
Best Family Car – Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Best Executive Car – Volvo V70/XC70
Best Fun Car – Volkswagen Scirocco
Best Small MPV – Kia Venga
Best SUV – Skoda Yeti
Best Large SUV – Lexus RX