Drivers expecting to get a quality experience when spending thousands more on a prestige car are in for a shock – buyers of models from mainstream brands are happier with their cars, according to a new survey out of the UK.
Results published today from Driver Power, Britain’s biggest survey of motorists, has revealed that the Skoda Superb is the car which makes its owners happiest, with a 93.4 per cent satisfaction score. The manufacturer’s Yeti takes second place with a 93.3 per cent score.
Another top scoring model was the C’eed from Kia, another mainstream marque, which made fifth place with a 93.0 per cent score. Lexus was the only ‘prestige’ brand in the top five of the survey with the RX on 93.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the bottom two places in the list of 75 cars are taken by cars from Volkswagen and Audi which are often thought of as quality brands.
There’s bad news for British marques too – the Jaguar XF takes the unwanted crown for the most faults in the survey, with almost a third of owners (30.9 per cent) saying their car has had an issue in the first 12 months of ownership.
The firm’s XE was the next worst with 26.7 per cent while Land Rover fared poorly too with the Discovery Sport with 25.3 per cent of owners experiencing problems.
Now in its 16th year, Driver Power is the largest car satisfaction study in the UK. For the New Car Survey, respondents with new cars (less than 12 months old) were asked to rate them in 31 different areas. It is one of seven sections in the overall Driver Power assessment program, which has already received more than 70,000 consumer responses for 2017.
“Some people still have a negative opinion of brands like Skoda and Kia, but the results of Driver Power prove that this is really outdated” said Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express.
“Skoda drivers are almost evangelical about their cars, the dealers and the whole ownership experience. It may seem odd that models from Skoda’s parent company VW and Audi scored so much lower in the survey but when customers pay for a quality experience and don’t get it, they’re bound to feel let down.”
The overall rating percentage is an average of scores across nine judging categories including comfort, handling, running costs and reliability.
British drivers are generally quite happy with their new cars with an average score of 89.5 per cent.
Although satisfaction scores are high, owners across the board said they would vote for better fuel economy, improvements to the built-in satellite navigation, and more space for luggage.
Top 10:
- Skoda Superb – 93.4%
- Skoda Yeti – 93.3%
- Lexus RX – 93.1%
- Toyota RAV4 – 93.1%
- Kia C’eed – 93.0%
- Suzuki Vitara - 93.01%
- SEAT Leon - 92.8%
- Lexus CT - 92.42
- Volvo XC60 - 92.17%
- Subaru Forester - 92.15%
Bottom 5:
- Volkswagen up! – 85.5%
- Audi A1 – 86.5%
- Citroen C4 Cactus – 86.6%
- Ford Mondeo – 86.8%
- Citroen C1 – 87.0%