Best car of 2013

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

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

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.

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

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...

Position	Make	Model	%	Position	Make	Model	%
1	Skoda	Yeti	92.65%	76	Audi	A4 MkIV	85.47%
2	Skoda	Superb MkII	92.13%	77	Honda	Jazz MkI	85.27%
3	Jaguar	XF	89.90%	78	Peugeot	3008	85.25%
4	Renault	Scenic MkIII	89.82%	79	Volkswagen	Passat MkVI	85.23%
5	Mazda	CX-5	89.63%	80	Ford	S-MAX	85.21%
6	Skoda	Octavia MkII	89.20%	81	Suzuki	Swift MkII	85.16%
7	Alfa Romeo	Giulietta	89.10%	82	Jaguar	X-Type	85.08%
8	Land Rover	Discovery MkIV	88.92%	83	Kia	Cee'd MkI	85.08%
9	BMW	3 Series MkVI	88.74%	84	Land Rover	Range Rover MkIII	85.06%
10	Mercedes	E-Class MkIV	88.61%	85	Toyota	Yaris MkII	85.02%
11	BMW	5 Series MkVI	88.41%	86	Toyota	Avensis MkII	84.98%
12	Vauxhall	Zafira Tourer	88.41%	87	Jaguar	S-Type	84.98%
13	BMW	X3 MkII	88.30%	88	BMW	5 Series MkV	84.94%
14	Subaru	Forester MkIII	87.94%	89	Ford	Galaxy MkIII	84.92%
15	Jaguar	XJ MkV	87.86%	90	Toyota	Auris MkI	84.74%
16	Volkswagen	Golf MkVI	87.79%	91	BMW	X5 MkII	84.73%
17	Kia	Rio MkIII	87.79%	92	Honda	Civic MkVIII	84.70%
18	Jaguar	XK/XKR MkII	87.57%	93	Mitsubishi	Lancer MkIX	84.69%
19	Volvo	XC60	87.53%	94	BMW	3 Series MkV	84.63%
20	Renault	Megane MkIII	87.53%	95	Audi	A1	84.39%
21	Hyundai	ix35	87.45%	96	Audi	TT/Roadster MkII	84.30%
22	Nissan	X-Trail MkII	87.34%	97	Subaru	Legacy	84.28%
23	Honda	Jazz MkII	87.34%	98	Vauxhall	Insignia	84.24%
24	Nissan	Micra MkIV	87.31%	99	Volkswagen	Touran	84.22%
25	Honda	Accord MVIII	87.29%	100	Honda	Accord MkVII	84.22%
26	Toyota	Prius MkIII	87.27%	101	Mercedes	SLK MkII	84.17%
27	Audi	A6 MkIV	87.21%	102	Volkswagen	Polo MkV	84.10%
28	Mercedes	C-Class MkIII	87.19%	103	Vauxhall	Astra MkVI	84.04%
29	Mitsubishi	ASX	87.18%	104	BMW	X3	83.96%
30	Toyota	Prius MkII	87.16%	105	Volkswagen	Passat MkV	83.93%
31	Honda	CR-V MkIII	87.15%	106	Subaru	Impreza MkIII	83.91%
32	Porsche	Cayman MkI	87.09%	107	Mazda	2 MkII	83.76%
33	Toyota	Verso MkI	86.92%	108	Renault	Clio MkIII	83.75%
34	Volkswagen	Passat CC	86.87%	109	Nissan	Note MkI	83.74%
35	Toyota	Yaris MkIII	86.80%	110	Audi	A3 MkII	83.71%
36	Citroen	DS3	86.79%	111	Hyundai	i20 MkI	83.65%
37	Mercedes	C-Class Sport Coupe	86.77%	112	Mitsubishi	Outlander MkII	83.64%
38	Mercedes	E-Class MkIII	86.67%	113	Land Rover	Discovery 3	83.55%
39	Volvo	V70 MkII	86.59%	114	Volvo	C30	83.52%
40	Toyota	Avensis MkIII	86.54%	115	Vauxhall	Antara	83.48%
41	Vauxhall	Agila MkII	86.52%	116	Mercedes	CLK MkII	83.41%
42	Ford	C-MAX MkII	86.47%	117	Ford	Fiesta MkVI	83.39%
43	Hyundai	i30 MkI	86.44%	118	Vauxhall	Meriva MkII	83.31%
44	Toyota	RAV4 MkIII	86.40%	119	Toyota	Corolla Verso	83.30%
45	Porsche	911 997	86.39%	120	Volvo	XC90	82.99%
46	Mazda	6 MkII	86.37%	121	SEAT	Altea	82.92%
47	Mazda	MX-5/RC MkIII	86.37%	122	Volvo	V50	82.85%
48	Renault	Laguna MkIII	86.35%	123	Alfa Romeo	159	82.76%
49	Kia	Sportage MkIII	86.31%	124	Volkswagen	Golf MkV	82.74%
50	Porsche	Boxster MkII	86.31%	125	MINI	Countryman	82.68%
51	Lexus	IS MkII	86.23%	126	Vauxhall	Corsa MkIII	82.52%
52	Land Rover	Range Rover Evoque	86.21%	127	Ford	Grand C-MAX	82.44%
53	Mazda	3 MkII	86.15%	128	SEAT	Leon MkII	82.41%
54	BMW	1 Series MkII	86.14%	129	Alfa Romeo	MiTo	82.41%
55	Volvo	S60 MkI	86.11%	130	Ford	Focus MkII	82.37%
56	Ford	Mondeo MkIV	86.10%	131	Citroen	C4 Picasso MkI	82.32%
57	Volkswagen	Tiguan	86.08%	132	Mazda	3 MkI	82.30%
58	BMW	X1	86.06%	133	Mazda	RX-8	82.22%
59	Ford	Kuga MkI	85.89%	134	Mazda	5	82.15%
60	Volkswagen	Scirocco MkIII	85.86%	135	Hyundai	i10	82.11%
61	Nissan	Qashqai	85.85%	136	MINI	Clubman	82.07%
62	Nissan	Juke	85.84%	137	Peugeot	308 MkI	81.97%
63	Citroen	C3 Picasso	85.82%	138	BMW	1 Series MkI	81.87%
64	Skoda	Fabia MkII	85.81%	139	Citroen	C5 MkII	81.82%
65	Toyota	iQ	85.79%	140	Peugeot	407	81.69%
66	BMW	3 Series Coupe/Conv MkV	85.74%	141	MINI	One/Cooper/S	81.44%
67	Audi	A6 MkIII	85.73%	142	Fiat	500/C	81.11%
68	Kia	Picanto MkII	85.69%	143	Fiat	Panda/4x4 MkI	81.00%
69	Audi	A5 Coupe/Cabrio	85.69%	144	SEAT	Ibiza MkIV	80.81%
70	Ford	Focus MkIII	85.68%	145	Vauxhall	Zafira MkII	80.70%
71	Skoda	Roomster	85.68%	146	Toyota	Aygo	80.41%
72	Mazda	CX-7	85.67%	147	Mercedes	A-Class MkII	80.35%
73	Land Rover	Freelander 2	85.63%	148	Ford	C-MAX MkI	80.25%
74	Hyundai	Santa Fe MkII	85.53%	149	Citroen	C4 MkI	79.63%
75	Volkswagen	Golf Plus	85.50%	150	Mitsubishi	Colt MkV	79.12%

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.