“If you really want to know about cars, ask the experts.”
So says Which? Car editor Richard Headland. But who are these experts? Manufacturers? (Bit biased.) Dealers? (Bit too profit making.) Garage owners? Mechanics?
None of the above. According to Richard, the experts are “… the people who drive every day.”
With (allegedly) no brand loyalty – although that is a touch difficult to swallow – it’s the everyday driver who can tell you what is good, and bad, about the cars that they drive. Personally cars are like salad cream – it has to be Heinz – but in these economically frugal days, to paraphrase Joseph with his dreamcoat “Any car will do.”
So what did Which? Car find out in a Summer 2011 survey for new and used cars?
Makers of the most reliable cars
Hyundai; according to the survey, has a great range of cars, is value for money, reliable and offer transferable, five-year warranties at a time when everybody is looking to cut back and make their money go further. In fact, a Hyundai has, on average, a 20% chance of a fault in 12 months from new. That’s not the best – but more about that later.
Car that makes its owners happy
In first place, a car that was actually phased out 6 years ago, but still holds a place in its owners’ hearts – the Toyota Yaris Verso.
Second, the VW Passat CC
Third, Land Rover Discovery – but, as you’ll see later, that was the only good news for the Land Rover in this survey.
Most Loved cars
In the Top 10 of this list, there’s 4 Skodas – the Yeti, (Never seen one of them, although the apparantly exist 
), Superb Estate, old Superb and new Superb.
But down there at the bottom…
Most ‘un-loved’ cars
Strictly not a true title but I didn’t really want to put ‘Most loved cars – well, not really’ as a title so, at the bottom of the most loved cars, with a satisfaction percentage of 49.4% (No; I’ve no idea how they were calculated but I’m guessing at a “How much do you love this car?” question) is the Renault Laguna Sport Tourer.
It’s in good company, as 7 out of the bottom 10 are built by French manufacturers (did they ask Al Murray to put this survey together?) with poor handling, performance, build quality and poor non-engine electrics cited as reasons for this particular poor performance.
So, it seems that Which? Car readers and members seem to like practical good-value cars (like Skoda, so it seems), aren’t keen on the “unreliable and fault-prone” Gallic cars like Renault and Peugeot and really can’t be bothered with the ‘satisfaction factor’ of so-called luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW and VW – giving them an average score, the same as Alfa Romeo and Citreon.
Says a lot more about them than any other statistic.
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The survey looked at over 67,000 cars – new and used – to get the results, and other ‘winners’ included:
Best Buy (Medium Sector aka ‘most popular car bought’ sector) – Kia Cee’d estate
Best value cars based on dependability and running costs (Medium Sector) – Honda Jazz and Skoda Fabia diesel
Best Medium Cars (Used) – Mazda 3, VW Golf, VW Jetta, Ford Focus
Best MPV (Used) – Honda FRV, Skoda Roomster, Toyota Previa
But the biggest winner of all, an undisputed winner in the Large Section (Used) – and every other Large Section sector – was the Toyota Avensis. Often called “dull” in description by the questioned drivers, the petrol version scored way ahead of many of its rivals in the majority of cases.
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And, if you want further proof of reliability. What Car? in conjunction with Warranty Direct released a report suggesting that, for reliability, Japanese and Korean makes are the best.
Honda vehicles, for the 6th year in a row, are top of the pile (That’s the power of dreams, eh?) with a mere 9% chance of developing a fault from new in the first 12 months. Toyota, Suzuki, Lexus and Mitsubishi fill the next four places.
And down at the bottom? Close your ears Land Rover – it’s you – with a 55% chance of a fault. And you won’t have to travel too far to have a chat with your fellow relegation favourites because they are all European. Alfa Romeo, Renault and Saab are all in the mid forties when it comes to chance of a developing fault from new.
Sorry Europe! Time to get those metaphorical socks pulled up!
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