Subaru is voted best car brand by owners as buyers deliver brutal verdict on MG

11:19 am, August 7, 2024

Subaru has been named the best car manufacturer of 2024 in a new survey of vehicle owners.

The poll, carried out by Auto Express, polled thousands of new car buyers on their experiences of living with the vehicles they own.

The data allows the the publication, which forms part of the Carwow Group, to build up an overall picture of satisfaction levels from brand to brand.

Firms are ranked in 10 different categories, including running costs, ride-and-handling, value, infotainment and exterior design, before an overall score is calculated.

Coming out on top, with a satisfaction score of 90.66% was Subaru, which performed best in an astonishing five categories.

The Japanese outfit was followed by Tesla (90.55), Kia (89.35%), Porsche (89.16%) and Citroen (88.22%) in the top five.

Jaguar and Land Rover both also performed well, despite 40.6% and 43.6% of owners respectively reporting faults with their cars.

Reacting to the results, Paul Barker, editor of Auto Express, said: ‘Subaru may not be the most high-profile of brands, but owners have made it clear they’re delighted with their car’s practicality, safety, reliability and quality, among other key attributes.

‘It’s great to hear the people that have put their own money into buying and owning these cars are so happy with their purchase, and it’s interesting that the top five has such a cross-section of brand – with Tesla, Kia, Porsche and Citroen rounding out the top five – showing that satisfaction is far from linked to cost or prestige.’

Best car brands according to owners

Subaru – 90.66%
Tesla – 90.55%
Kia – 89.35%
Porsche – 89.16%
Citroen – 88.22%
Peugeot – 88.03%
Mazda – 88.01%
Toyota – 87.74%
Jaguar –87.72%
Land Rover – 87.63%

On the flip side, the worst performing brand of the 32 published was MG, with an overall satisfaction score of 82.01%.

The Chinese-owned firm performed poorly in a number of categories and came 31st for interior, practicality and boot space, and infotainment.

It also came a lowly 27th for mpg and running costs, with its only top ten spot coming in the form of a seventh place for value.

Meanwhile, 28.1% of owners complained about issues with their cars, contributing to a dismal all-round performance for the brand.

Only faring slightly better were Fiat (84.13%) and Ford (84.58%). It was also a brutal set of results of the Volkswagen Group, which had four brands in the bottom 10.