Skoda named top car manufacturer: survey

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Skoda named top car manufacturer: survey
PETER WOODMAN
July 22, 2010
Skoda is 'Superb' according to survey. Pictured: Skoda Superb.
Skoda, once seen as a motoring figure of fun, has been named as best car manufacturer in a major survey by Which? Car magazine.

Skoda, once seen as a motoring figure of fun, has been named as best car manufacturer in a major survey by Which? Car magazine.

The Czech company's fortunes have revived since its takeover by Germany's Volkswagen.

On Thursday it pushed Lexus into second place, with Mazda third.

The survey, involving more than 64,000 Which? members and more than 66,000 cars up to eight years old, showed that, of sports cars, Porsche topped the customer satisfaction table.

Second was Daihatsu, with Lexus third. MG was at the bottom of the sports-car satisfaction table being rated as "poor" along with Vauxhall, Peugeot, Chrysler and Renault.

Topping the satisfaction table for an individual car model was the Honda Accord, followed by the Honda S200 and the Mazda MX-5.

The Honda Accord scored 97 per cent in this category in contrast to the cars at the bottom of the satisfaction table, with the Renault Laguna scoring only 51 per cent and the Renault Espace last of all with just 48 per cent.

The Kia Pacinto topped the table for new-car reliability (0-3 years) in the supermini sector, with the Seat Ibiza bottom of the list.

The Mazda 3 was considered the best medium car for new-car reliability with the Nissan Qashqai bottom.

In the large car sector, the most-reliable was the Honda Insight, with the Ford Mondeo bottom of this particular table.

The most-reliable luxury car was the Mercedes-Benz E-class, with the Volkswagen Golf Plus the best in the multi-purpose vehicle sector; the Toyota RAV4 the most reliable 4x4 or sports utility vehicle; and the Mercedes-Benz SLK named the best sports car.

In the manufacturers' reliability section of the survey, Daihatsu, with a score of 86.8 per cent was top of the table, with Land Rover last on 67.5 per cent.

Japanese companies dominated the top positions for reliability, taking eight places in the top 10, with Honda second, Toyota third and Mazda fourth.

Daihatsu was also considered the best company when it came to servicing cars, with Lexus second and Honda third. Bottom of this table was Fiat.

Despite the adverse publicity surrounding the recall of millions of Toyota cars worldwide in recent months, the company's luxury arm - Lexus - topped the best-dealership table, with MG bottom.

Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: "You don't expect a new car to go wrong - but our rigorous research shows there's a big difference between the best and worst.

"Some small cars, particularly Korean and Japanese superminis, run like clockwork.

"Whereas some bigger cars, which you might expect to be more robust, aren't all they're cracked up to be."

My comment..it would be interesting as to why the MONDEO was voted least reliable large car ???

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From WHICH ? site
Most reliable new cars revealed
Kia Picanto tops Which? Car reliability survey

22 July 2010


Kia Picanto is the UK's most reliable new car
Small is beautiful when it comes to car reliability – as the Which? Car survey has revealed that the tiny Kia Picanto is the most reliable new car.

The UK’s largest reliability survey looked at over 26,000 new cars, and found the least dependable new car was a 4x4, the Land Rover Discovery 3.

The Kia Picanto is the most dependable car of 2010, clocking up very few faults and earning a reliability score of 98.1%. The Korean supermini’s safety features (a low Euro NCAP crash test score and a lack of stability control) aren’t quite so impressive, however, so Which? Car doesn’t recommend it.

Success for Japanese cars

The Mazda3 hatchback took second place for reliability
The Mazda3 is in second place with 97.6%. Its safety and performance are first class too, making it a Which? recommended car. The Daihatsu Sirion supermini and the Honda Insight, a petrol-electric hybrid, are equal third with 97%.

Japanese cars dominate the field, with seven cars in the top 10. Toyota retains its excellent reliability rating overall in spite of its recall woes earlier this year. Star performer is the iQ (5th, 96.1%) with very few cars suffering any problems at all, while the Prius (7th, 95.4%) also proves to be highly dependable.

Land Rover least reliable
Bottom of the table is the Land Rover Discovery 3 (67.8%), the only car in the survey to dip below a 70% score.


Land Rover Discovery 3 came last in our reliability survey
The Land Rover Range Rover Sport (75.8%) also makes the bottom 10, showing the company’s rugged 4x4s aren’t quite as tough as their image.

Other big car losers include the Hyundai Santa Fe (75.0%), which at least comes with a decent five year warranty; Jaguar S-type (76%); Citroën C4 Grand Picasso (77.4%), the least reliable people carrier; Volvo S80 (77.6%); and Ford S-Max (77.6%).

Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive, Which?, says: “You don’t expect a new car to go wrong – but our rigorous research shows there’s a big difference between the best and worst. Some small cars, particularly Korean and Japanese superminis, run like clockwork. Whereas some bigger cars, which you might expect to be more robust, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”


BMW's 3-Series Convertible proves not all German cars are reliable
Most reliable new cars
1 Kia Picanto (98.1% reliability score)

2 Mazda3 (97.6%)

3= Daihatsu Sirion (97.0%)

3= Honda Insight (97.0%)

5 Honda Jazz (96.2%)

6 Toyota iQ (96.1%)

7 Toyota Prius (95.4%)

8= Volkswagen Golf Plus (93.3%)

8= Mercedes-Benz SLK (93.3%)

10 Mazda2 (93.2%)

Least reliable new cars
137= Ford S-Max (77.6%)

137= Volvo S80 (77.6%)

139 Citroën C4 Grand Picasso (77.4%)

140 Ford Focus CC (77.2%)

141 Jaguar S-type* (76.0%)

142 Volkswagen Eos (75.7%)

143 Land Rover Range Rover Sport (75.8%)

144 Renault Mégane CC* (75.7%)

145 Hyundai Santa Fe (75.0%)

146 BMW 3 Series convertible* (73.9%)

147 Land Rover Discovery 3* (67.8%)

Although some models have been in production for many years, the scores above only relate to cars from new up to three years old. *These models are now discontinued.

Which? Car survey
The Which? Car survey took place between December 2009 and March 2010, when we heard from 64,467 Which? members about 66,699 cars up to eight years old, creating a comprehensive whole-life picture. The data was split into two categories: ‘new’ cars aged up to three years old, and ‘older’ cars aged between four and eight years old. There were 26,480 ‘new’ cars and 40,219 ‘old’ cars.

Survey questions encompassed all aspects of motoring. Reliability is scrutinised by splitting problems into three categories: breakdowns, faults and niggles, with the highest priority given to breakdowns so the biggest problems are highlighted as these are the most inconvenient. Each car’s reliability score is based on this information.