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 

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.

See the results for previous years…

Most Popular

New Renault 5: price, specs, launch and on sale dates
Renault 5 EV concept at 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed
News

New Renault 5: price, specs, launch and on sale dates

Renault’s reborn Renault 5 will start from €25,000 in Europe, suggesting a circa-£30k price in the UK. It's due on sale in the summer of 2024. Here's …
1 Dec 2023
‘Forget leasing a car, a cut-price van should be your next everyday vehicle’
Opinion - Fiat Scudo
Opinion

‘Forget leasing a car, a cut-price van should be your next everyday vehicle’

With some huge savings to be had, Mike Rutherford thinks a van could be the perfect vehicle
3 Dec 2023
New BMW X3 replacement to grow in size and feature a minimalist dash
BMW Neue Klasse SUV exclusive image - front
News

New BMW X3 replacement to grow in size and feature a minimalist dash

BMW’s first Neue Klasse electric SUV could carry the iX3 nameplate and our exclusive images preview how it might look
30 Nov 2023