Auto Express: Driver Power 2007 - The Results

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G.T

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In the latest issue of Auto Express, the results of their Driver Power survey is shown:

Auto Express
Beating everything from luxury saloons to sports coupes, Skoda’s Octavia has been named the Best Car to own in the UK in Driver Power 2007!

Now in its sixth year, Auto Express’s class leading motoring survey is the most eagerly anticipated poll in the business. The Driver Power questionnaire was completed by tens of thousands of drivers before the closing date at the end of January. Since then an independent data firm has crunched the numbers and we have been busy producing the best ever Driver Power report.

And with over 40 per cent of drivers reporting a breakdown in the last three years – learning which models are letting you down has never been more important.

The headline news is the new Czech winner, which has stopped Honda’s S2000 from making it three gold medals in a row.

The Driver Power survey canvases the opinion the motoring public on a wide range of subjects ranging from the cars you drive to their impact on the environment. The first report focuses on your experiences of different models and manufacturers – and reveals the definitive rank of the most satisfying cars to own in the UK.

Cars are ranked by the general public in ten key categories – reliability, build quality, performance, braking, ride quality, handling, practicality, comfort and ease of driving. Driver’s scores are then averaged to come up with an overall percentage score for each model.

Below you will find the key class winners and runners-up, but to see an in-depth analysis of the full results and league tables check out the 48-page guide free with a special issue of Auto Express, on sale from Wednesday 28 March.
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I've taken pictures as best as I could (no scanner), so read away...



Overall results by manufacturer:

1st - Lexus 89.16%
2nd - Skoda 88.43%
3rd - Honda 87.35%
4th - Porsche 86.91%
5th - Mazda 86.90%
6th - Subaru 86.58%
7th - BMW 86.37%
8th - Toyota 85.79%
9th - Jaguar 85.77%
10th - Daihatsu 85.71%
11th - Audi 85.39%
12th - Volvo 85.23%
13th - Mercedes 84.61%
14th - Volkswagen 84.28%
15th - Saab 83.62%
16th - Kia 83.45%
17th - Hyundai 83.35%
18th - MG 83.07%
19th - SEAT 83.06%
20th - Ford 82.95%
21st - Nissan 82.93%
22nd - Mitsubishi 82.63%
23rd - Citroen 82.32%
24th - Rover 82.18%
25th - Chrysler 82.05%
26th - MINI 81.47%
27th - Land Rover 81.36%
28th - Vauxhall 81.34%
29th - Smart 81.16%
30th - Alfa Romeo 81.10%
31st - Suzuki 81.06%
32nd - Lotus 80.64%
33rd - Renault 80.47%
34th - Peugeot 79.13%
35th - Daewoo/Chevrolet 78.91%
36th - Fiat 78.47%
37th - Jeep 77.48%



Best:

Supermini/City Car - Honda Jazz 88.63%

Compact Family - Honda Civic (new) 89.89%

Family - Skoda Octavia 91.86%

Compact Executive - Lexus IS (old) 88.18%

Executive - BMW 5-Series (new) 89.09%

Sports - Honda S2000 90.14%

Off-Road/SUV - Lexus RX 90.67%

MPV/Compact MPV - Volkswagen Touran 86.69%



By catagory:

Reliability - Honda S2000 97.10% - Worst - Renault Scenic (old) 73.81%

Build Quality - Lexus RX 96.92% - Worst - Fiat Punto 70.25%

Running Costs - Toyota Yaris (old) 92.24% - Worst - Mazda RX-8 58.95%

Performance - Subaru Impreza (old) 97.59% - Worst - Renault Scenic (old) 68.67%

Braking - Honda S2000 96.85% - Worst - Ford Ka/Sportka 70.00%

Ride Quality - Citroen C5 95.95% - Worst - SEAT Ibiza 65.895

Handling - Porsche Boxster (old) 97.22% - Worst - Renault Scenic (old) 70.24%

Pracicality - Volvo XC90 98.81% - Worst - Nissan 350Z 61.41%

Comfort - Volvo S60 96.33% - Worst - Ford Ka/Sportka 73.50%

Ease of driving - Lexus RX 97.23% - Worst - Peugeot 206 78.74%



Survey index and introduction pages:




Result pages:

100-93:


92-85:


84-77:


76-69:


68-61:


60-53:


52-45:


44:37:


36-29:


28-21:


20-13:


12-5:


4-1:





I'm still surprised the S2000 is always up there with reliability! Glad to see the new Honda Civic is right up the list too. :P

I do think it's unfair for the couple of older cars to be there though. It's obvious the standards of cars are rising considerably over the years, so the Scenic wouldn't have stood a chance. But I guess it proves the point...

What do you guys think?
 
Excellent work GT, +rep for that.

My honest first thoughts were for a now departed member and exactly how he would explain away Audi sitting down in 11th, just below Daihatsu, and beaten by Toyota, a company he loved to knock at every turn.

1st - Lexus 89.16%
2nd - Skoda 88.43%
3rd - Honda 87.35%
4th - Porsche 86.91%
5th - Mazda 86.90%
6th - Subaru 86.58%
7th - BMW 86.37%
8th - Toyota 85.79%
9th - Jaguar 85.77%
10th - Daihatsu 85.71%
11th - Audi 85.39%


:)

Scaff
 
pwnexplode.gif
 
Nah not me I'm an evil git after all.


Anyway his big brother told me off for banning him.


Scaff
 
Thanks for this. Honda doing well again, but shame the S2000 wasnt able to take the big one again.

Id like to know how Skoda are getting great reviews and Seat not so much... seems strange to me.
 
It's because Skoda are selling more of the affordable luxury cars while SEAT is selling more sporty ranges. Evo magazine also claim the interior on their SEAT is starting to show it's cheap build.


It'll be interesting to see how the Chinese handle MG, and whether it'll go up or down from this ranking.
 
Scaff
Excellent work GT, +rep for that.

My honest first thoughts were for a now departed member and exactly how he would explain away Audi sitting down in 11th, just below Daihatsu, and beaten by Toyota, a company he loved to knock at every turn.

1st - Lexus 89.16%
2nd - Skoda 88.43%
3rd - Honda 87.35%
4th - Porsche 86.91%
5th - Mazda 86.90%
6th - Subaru 86.58%
7th - BMW 86.37%
8th - Toyota 85.79%
9th - Jaguar 85.77%
10th - Daihatsu 85.71%
11th - Audi 85.39%


:)

Scaff
Click to expand...

They're really 4th, just below the USA.


Quick note: Mazdas are one ten thousandth worse than Porsches for less than half the money.
 
And more than half the performance. Generally speaking anyway.
 
I still think that the sort of people who buy Lexus in the UK are the sort who'd always say their car was fantastic, even if it was the worst POS they'd ever driven. They've got to somehow justify to their 'senior sales rep' colleagues why they didn't just order a BMW company car instead.
 
Lexus are good cars though, road tests and reviews back that up. Also thier customer service is very good, a friend had an IS200 which was imo easilly comparable to a 3-series in spec, perhaps not as sporty to drive I don't know, but as a day to day car I couldn't say the BMW was better in any notable way.
 
I don't think much of Skoda Octavias at all. Well, the old ones anyway.

I happened to be in a last-gen vRS about a month ago and the quality was quite poor. I was expecting it to be as well built as the Passat. But the feel of shutting the door and trim quality was flimsy instead - the complete opposite. It was pretty quick and has a decent engine though. :P
 
Doesn't VW own Skoda...and yet, more people are satisfied with that product than VW or Audi?

Bewildering!
 
Race Idiot
Also it's a note to all you yanks who think you want french cars and vauxhalls. You don't they are (mostly) terrible.
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Yes yes, we know. The thing is, we want something different in the US, and with so few of the companies selling cars in America not doing it, we obviously have to turn somewhere.

...Oh, and Vauxhalls? I'd expect them to pack-in as much quality as a Chevrolet or Pontiac (given how related they are), which would at least make them average-ish in terms of quality. They're getting better, and presumably Vauxhalls and Opels are as well. Time will tell.

---

How did the US brands stack up in 2006? (We don't have our 2007 surveys in yet...)

1-jd-06.jpg


2-jd-06.jpg


And although this one is old, it should shed some light on our car market...

2-jd-05.gif
 
Race Idiot
Also it's a note to all you yanks who think you want french cars and vauxhalls. You don't they are (mostly) terrible.
Click to expand...
There are exactly six French cars I want. Two of them are old, weird Renaults, and three of them are powered by PRV engines, so they don't count.
I want these:
250px-Citroen_C6.JPG
250px-Citroen_Pluriel.jpg
 
Toronado
There are exactly six French cars I want. Two of them are old, weird Renaults, and three of them are powered by PRV engines, so they don't count.
I want these:
250px-Citroen_C6.JPG
250px-Citroen_Pluriel.jpg
Click to expand...
I can understand the C6, but why a Pluriel? I gag when ever I see one, and that isn't often as no one buys one, because they aren't that good...
 
I sat in a Citreon C6 at the motorshow, had a almost white interior (not a colour I would choose), I was suprised how nice it was.
 

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