Sorry petrolheads: Tesla Model 3 voted UK’s best car to own
Tesla’s electric saloon topped three of 10 categories and pipped the petrol BMW 2 Series Coupe to the 2026 Driver Power crown
The Tesla Model 3 has been voted the best car to own in the 2026 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first publication of the UK’s most comprehensive car ownership survey, with the 2026 edition compiling opinions from over 100,000 drivers across the country on the cars they drive.
Elon Musk’s electric saloon dominated this year’s survey, topping three of the 10 main categories – Engine and Gearbox, Safety Features, and Quality and Reliability – and performing well in almost all others. Vice President of Content and Publishing at Auto Express, Sarah Perks, pointed out how: “Owners love almost everything about their Model 3s, especially now quality has improved. The electric saloon is the only car to be rated 100 per cent in a category, with owners giving a perfect score for the drivetrain smoothness.”
The inherent smoothness of an electric drivetrain appears to be something owners value immensely, with 2026 marking a new record for the performance on EV models in Driver Power. In 2026, six models in the top 10 are either exclusively available as an EV, or offered with an electric powertrain as an option. That’s up from just one in 2025 and two in 2024.
However, it was the petrol and diesel-powered BMW 2 Series Coupe that took the runner-up spot for 2026. “The quality of the [2 Series’] interior finish and materials is highly rated,” Perks highlighted. “As a Coupe, it’s no surprise that the 2 Series is praised for its driving dynamics, with owners rating it third-best for powertrain performance and placing its ride and handling in second place.”
Rounding out the podium places was the new Vauxhall Grandland which is one of the aforementioned models available with both petrol and electric power. With the previous-generation model the second-place finisher in last year’s survey, Perks said: “The Grandland is no stranger to the Driver Power top 10, and even though it has slipped a place since last year, this is still a great result for Vauxhall. Surprisingly for a car at this level of the chart, it can’t claim number-one spots in any category, but it does win several runner-up positions, which help push up the overall score.”
The rest of the top 10 was filled out by the Ford Kuga, Vauxhall Frontera, BMW 1 Series, Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Mokka, Hyundai Tucson and Peugeot 3008.
This year’s Driver Power data does show overall owner satisfaction has decreased over the last few years, driven largely by obtrusive safety systems and tech. Perks emphasised how “it is clear that it’s not the amount of tech that’s the issue, but how drivers interact with it. As systems multiply, usability is clearly becoming the sticking point.”
Check out our full Driver Power 2026 top 50 cars to own rankings here...
