Which? Magazine Annual Car Survey Releases Results of Owners Road Tests.
Everyone has heard of Which Magazine as for years it’s provided a guide as to what’s good and what’s bad for a whole myriad of things that we are likely to buy. OK, things have changed a little because for many of us, it’s the internet that’s now our first port of call if we want to check a product out. Which however are still around and still offering us advice and have just published the results of a customer survey, where 52,565 drivers have told them just what they think about the cars they drive and how happy they are with them.
The survey looked at more than 63,000 new and used cars rated. Between December 2010 and March 2011, 52,563 people told Which? Car about the 63,727 cars they owned (some reported on more than one car)
The survey asks owners to rate (out of five) how satisfied they are with their car, and just how likely they are to recommend it to a friend. By combining these responses, Which? Car awards a Customer Score out of 100%.
You can find the full results on-line at Which online if you are a member, but for those of you who are not, you can pick up a copy of “Which? Car Autumn 2011”, priced at £4.99 and available from newsagents, but meanwhile, here is a brief run-down of the 10 best & the 10 worst cars from the survey “but remember, this isn’t specifically a new car survey, and some of the cars could date back as far as 1998, but if you are a used car buyer and cant take advantage of the latest technology that’s out there, at least this survey might help you make a decision when its time to change.
Now I wouldn’t presume to criticise the readers of Which Magazine or the work of this survey, however when you read anything like this, please remember that not all cars are driven in the same way. You often find that obscure brands, or low volume vehicles score particularly well and that’s because they are mostly bought by private motorists who do very small annual mileages, don’t thrash or abuse them and because it’s their investment, generally mollycoddle them.
The more popular, better known cars by the major manufacturers tend to be the choices for business users and these often get a wholly different life as they are simply used as a tool to do a job, so drawing a direct comparison of reliability is to say the least, a little unfair and results in a completely uneven playing field. Don’t forget, company buyers are extremely shrewd and look for the best value for money vehicles they can get and this isn’t just the ticket price, but what they cost in repairs and maintenance, what they get back for them when they eventually dispose of them and of course, how reliable they are when they are running them. If your personal car breaks down, it’s very inconvenient, but if a car being used for business purposes breaks down, it can mean lost orders and lost customers if the driver isn’t able to make his appointment.
Anyway, Which Magazines Car Editor says “if you really want to know about cars, ask the experts – the people who drive them every day” and whilst I can understand where he’s coming from, if I tell you that the UK’s 50 top leasing companies alone run over 1.1 million cars, it makes the Which survey sample of 63,000 vehicles look fairly insignificant and for us we hold much greater store in reports produced by the leasing industry itself as they for the main part, pay for all of the repairs for their vehicles themselves, so they know what things cost and of course, all the emotion and personal likes and dislikes are removed, just leaving the stark facts. Watch out busseyvehicleleasing.co.uk for these reports as they are published.
So here are some extracts from the results of the Which Magazine survey
Top ten
1.Toyota Yaris Verso (2000-2005) 97.7%
2.Volkswagen Passat CC (2008-) 96.4%
3.Land Rover Discovery 4 (2010-) 95.7%
4.Skoda Yeti (2009-) 95.4%
5.Honda S2000 (1999-2009) 95.3%
6.Skoda Superb Estate (2010-) 95.2%
7.Mazda MX-5 (1998-2005) 94.5%
8.Toyota Landcruiser (2003-) 94.2%
9. Skoda Superb (2002-2008) 94.2%
10.Skoda Superb (2008) 94.2%
Bottom ten
1.Mercedes-Benz M-class (1998-2004) 60.8%
2.Mercedes-Benz CLC Coupe (2008-) 60.2%
3.Renault Grand Scénic (2003-2009) 59.9%
4.Peugeot 307 CC (2003-2009) 59.8%
5.Rover 400/45 (1995-2005) 59.5%
6.Renault Laguna (2001-2007) 57.3%
7.Citroën C8 (2003-2010) 53.9%
8.Peugeot 206 CC (2001-2007) 51.7%
9.Peugeot 807 (2002-2010) 51.4%
10.Renault Laguna Sport Tourer (2001-2008) 49.4%
