Best compact executive car
Quality, durability and prestige are what buyers look for, and you’ve told us who does it best
Compact executive cars are all about lowering running costs and offering impressive technology and comfort. The class is generally dominated by German brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi, so this year’s result may come as a surprise.
Winner: Honda Accord The Honda Accord beats more expensive rivals like the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class to take the top spot in this class. That’s probably down to its incredibly high fourth-place finish in the reliability category, but it had strong results for practicality and comfort, too. Apparently braking and handling could do with some improvement, though.
Last place: Saab 9-3 Things just keep getting worse for Saab – after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year, the company's 9-3 has now been voted as the worst compact executive car in our Driver Power survey. Aside from practicality and performance, the Saab 9-3 finished near the bottom of every other category, scoring particularly badly for running costs, braking and handling.
| Position | Make | Model | % |
| 1 | Honda | Accord MkVII | 85.75% |
| 2 | Mercedes | C-Class MkIII | 85.51% |
| 3 | Volvo | V50 | 85.49% |
| Last place | Saab | 9-3 MkII | 82.34% |
