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Best car of 2013

The results are in and the votes have been counted, so now we name our Driver Power 2013 champion

Britain's most influential car reliability and satisfaction survey is back for its 12th year – and with more than 40,000 of you taking part in this year’s Driver Power poll, the results are more revealing than ever.

We’ve counted all the scores and analysed the results, and are delighted to announce the winners and losers.

The top three…

1. Skoda Yeti

Overall rating: 92.65%  2012 ranking: 1 

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Few cars in the history of Driver Power can match the achievements of the Skoda Yeti, and it holds on to its crown in 2013. In the three years it has graced our satisfaction survey, it’s never finished outside the top two and best-in-category finishes for build quality and in-car technology laid the foundations for victory again this year.

Owners love the Yeti’s reliability and rave about its generous equipment, while the handling of this tall-riding car shows many of its traditional hatchback rivals how things should be done. Excellent visibility helped the Yeti win the silver medal in the ease of driving category, too.

The range has some excellent engines, including a smooth 1.2-litre TSI petrol and the frugal 1.6 TDI GreenLine diesel. Owners love the performance and brakes, and while they’re not so impressed by the ride quality and practicality, even here the car finishes in the top 20. And the niggles don’t stop the Yeti claiming back-to-back Driver Power triumphs.

2. Skoda Superb MkII

Overall rating: 92.13%  2012 ranking: 2 

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Skoda secures yet another Driver Power podium, proving that it knows how to keep its customers happy. The second-generation Superb was our champion in 2011, before being edged out last year, and it comes second again in 2013 – but it pushed our winner hard, missing out on first place by only 0.73 per cent.

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Key to the family car’s success is the space it provides, for passengers and luggage. The huge boot and limousine levels of rear legroom were central to its number one ranking in the practicality category. Owners also rated the Superb’s solid build quality and praised the amount of technology on board for the money.

A consistent set of results included only a few disappointments. Judging by our findings, the big family car’s handling doesn’t live up to the same high standards, but it finished in the top 10 in eight of our 10 categories. Owners were almost universal in their praise of economy, especially for diesel cars.

3. Jaguar XF

Overall rating: 89.90%  2012 ranking: 5 

A drop of two places last year could have been the start of a downward spiral, but the Jaguar XF has regained its momentum this year to move back on to the Driver Power podium. There are some stellar results on the Jaguar’s scorecard, but its three top-five category scores are countered with 66th place for practicality and 71st for running costs. The fact this stylish exec can register two such poor results yet still finish so high up shows just how good the rest of the car is.

Last place...

100. Honda Accord MkVII

Overall rating: 84.22  2012 ranking: 38 

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Bringing up the rear of the Top 100 is the Honda Accord MkVII. This is unfamiliar territory for a brand more used to battling at the top, but the previous model is simply too old to compete these days. It has nose-dived by 62 places after putting in a weak performance pretty much across the board. In 2012, the car was fourth in our combined reliability/build quality category – but we’ve separated the two this year, and the Accord came 76th for reliability, which suggests it’s not as dependable as it once was.

The full rundown...

PositionMakeModel%     PositionMakeModel%
1SkodaYeti92.65%     76AudiA4 MkIV85.47%
2SkodaSuperb MkII92.13%     77HondaJazz MkI85.27%
3JaguarXF89.90%     78Peugeot300885.25%
4RenaultScenic MkIII89.82%     79VolkswagenPassat MkVI85.23%
5MazdaCX-589.63%     80FordS-MAX85.21%
6SkodaOctavia MkII89.20%     81SuzukiSwift MkII85.16%
7Alfa RomeoGiulietta89.10%     82JaguarX-Type85.08%
8Land RoverDiscovery MkIV88.92%     83KiaCee'd MkI85.08%
9BMW3 Series MkVI88.74%     84Land RoverRange Rover MkIII85.06%
10MercedesE-Class MkIV88.61%     85ToyotaYaris MkII85.02%
11BMW5 Series MkVI88.41%     86ToyotaAvensis MkII84.98%
12VauxhallZafira Tourer88.41%     87JaguarS-Type84.98%
13BMWX3 MkII88.30%     88BMW5 Series MkV84.94%
14SubaruForester MkIII87.94%     89FordGalaxy MkIII84.92%
15JaguarXJ MkV87.86%     90ToyotaAuris MkI84.74%
16VolkswagenGolf MkVI87.79%     91BMWX5 MkII84.73%
17KiaRio MkIII87.79%     92HondaCivic MkVIII84.70%
18JaguarXK/XKR MkII87.57%     93MitsubishiLancer MkIX84.69%
19VolvoXC6087.53%     94BMW3 Series MkV84.63%
20RenaultMegane MkIII87.53%     95AudiA184.39%
21Hyundaiix3587.45%     96AudiTT/Roadster MkII84.30%
22NissanX-Trail MkII87.34%     97SubaruLegacy84.28%
23HondaJazz MkII87.34%     98VauxhallInsignia84.24%
24NissanMicra MkIV87.31%     99VolkswagenTouran84.22%
25HondaAccord MVIII87.29%     100HondaAccord MkVII84.22%
26ToyotaPrius MkIII87.27%     101MercedesSLK MkII84.17%
27AudiA6 MkIV87.21%     102VolkswagenPolo MkV84.10%
28MercedesC-Class MkIII87.19%     103VauxhallAstra MkVI84.04%
29MitsubishiASX87.18%     104BMWX383.96%
30ToyotaPrius MkII87.16%     105VolkswagenPassat MkV83.93%
31HondaCR-V MkIII87.15%     106SubaruImpreza MkIII83.91%
32PorscheCayman MkI87.09%     107Mazda2 MkII83.76%
33ToyotaVerso MkI86.92%     108RenaultClio MkIII83.75%
34VolkswagenPassat CC86.87%     109NissanNote MkI83.74%
35ToyotaYaris MkIII86.80%     110AudiA3 MkII83.71%
36CitroenDS386.79%     111Hyundaii20 MkI83.65%
37MercedesC-Class Sport Coupe86.77%     112MitsubishiOutlander MkII83.64%
38MercedesE-Class MkIII86.67%     113Land RoverDiscovery 383.55%
39VolvoV70 MkII86.59%     114VolvoC3083.52%
40ToyotaAvensis MkIII86.54%     115VauxhallAntara83.48%
41VauxhallAgila MkII86.52%     116MercedesCLK MkII83.41%
42FordC-MAX MkII86.47%     117FordFiesta MkVI83.39%
43Hyundaii30 MkI86.44%     118VauxhallMeriva MkII83.31%
44ToyotaRAV4 MkIII86.40%     119ToyotaCorolla Verso83.30%
45Porsche911 99786.39%     120VolvoXC9082.99%
46Mazda6 MkII86.37%     121SEATAltea82.92%
47MazdaMX-5/RC MkIII86.37%     122VolvoV5082.85%
48RenaultLaguna MkIII86.35%     123Alfa Romeo15982.76%
49KiaSportage MkIII86.31%     124VolkswagenGolf MkV82.74%
50PorscheBoxster MkII86.31%     125MINICountryman82.68%
51LexusIS MkII86.23%     126VauxhallCorsa MkIII82.52%
52Land RoverRange Rover Evoque86.21%     127FordGrand C-MAX82.44%
53Mazda3 MkII86.15%     128SEATLeon MkII82.41%
54BMW1 Series MkII86.14%     129Alfa RomeoMiTo82.41%
55VolvoS60 MkI86.11%     130FordFocus MkII82.37%
56FordMondeo MkIV86.10%     131CitroenC4 Picasso MkI82.32%
57VolkswagenTiguan86.08%     132Mazda3 MkI82.30%
58BMWX186.06%     133MazdaRX-882.22%
59FordKuga MkI85.89%     134Mazda582.15%
60VolkswagenScirocco MkIII85.86%     135Hyundaii1082.11%
61NissanQashqai85.85%     136MINIClubman82.07%
62NissanJuke85.84%     137Peugeot308 MkI81.97%
63CitroenC3 Picasso85.82%     138BMW1 Series MkI81.87%
64SkodaFabia MkII85.81%     139CitroenC5 MkII81.82%
65ToyotaiQ85.79%     140Peugeot40781.69%
66BMW3 Series Coupe/Conv MkV85.74%     141MINIOne/Cooper/S81.44%
67AudiA6 MkIII85.73%     142Fiat500/C81.11%
68KiaPicanto MkII85.69%     143FiatPanda/4x4 MkI81.00%
69AudiA5 Coupe/Cabrio85.69%     144SEATIbiza MkIV80.81%
70FordFocus MkIII85.68%     145VauxhallZafira MkII80.70%
71SkodaRoomster85.68%     146ToyotaAygo80.41%
72MazdaCX-785.67%     147MercedesA-Class MkII80.35%
73Land RoverFreelander 285.63%     148FordC-MAX MkI80.25%
74HyundaiSanta Fe MkII85.53%     149CitroenC4 MkI79.63%
75VolkswagenGolf Plus85.50%     150MitsubishiColt MkV79.12%

How are our results calculated?

Our survey asks drivers to rate their car out of five in 10 key categories. An independent data processing company then crunches the numbers to provide the overall average scores.

Why doesn’t my car feature?

Not all models can be included, due to the sheer number of cars on UK roads. Plus, to ensure our results are reliable, we need a robust sample size of drivers of each vehicle.

See the results for previous years…

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