Cheap cars make unhappy owners: data shows budget cars are bad for customer satisfaction
Auto Express’ Driver Power 2026 customer satisfaction survey data reveals cars from premium brands are more likely to please owners than budget offerings
Owners of cars from budget brands tend to be less satisfied with their purchase than those with vehicles from mainstream or premium manufacturers.
Analysis of Auto Express’ recent 2026 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey revealed that brands with line-ups featuring a median price point 30 per cent lower than the typical price of a new car were statistically more likely to receive low satisfaction scores than those with more expensive offerings.
Of the 30 manufacturers that appeared in our survey, six – Citroen, Dacia, Fiat, SEAT, Suzuki and Vauxhall – were classified as ‘budget’ brands, given that the median starting price across their entire line-ups fell below the threshold of £28,000. This is 30 per cent less than the average UK new-car price of around £40,000.
Dacia finished last (30th out of 30) in the 2026 survey and Vauxhall was the only budget brand to make it into the top 10. Auto Express found that budget manufacturers were statistically 69 per cent more likely to rank below average in this year’s standings. If you also include MG (which finished second-to-last) and ignore its new IM branded range of premium EVs, the figure rises to 76 per cent.
Things don’t look all that much better for budget cars when taking into account the individual model rankings, either. All of the bottom 10 models in this year’s Best Cars to Own survey start from under the aforementioned £28,000 threshold, reinforcing owner disappointment with more affordable new car offerings.
In contrast, all of the top five brands featured in 2026’s manufacturer survey have a median price point above the £40,000 new-car average. Two of these – BMW and Mercedes – have midpoints that are 30 per cent above this level.
Curiously, though, while two premium brand cars – the Tesla Model 3 and BMW 2 Series – made it into the top five in the model rankings, they were accompanied by two Vauxhall models, hinting that there is at least some customer satisfaction amid the budget car brands.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first publication of the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. Since then, hundreds of thousands of motorists have shared their experiences to compile the most comprehensive car ownership report in the UK automotive industry.
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