The best car brands in the UK: Driver Power 2024

UK drivers have voted for their favourite car brand to own in this year’s Driver Power brand satisfaction survey, and the results are in – these are Britain’s 10 favourite car manufacturers in 2024. The results follow the 2024 Driver Power owner’s survey, which highlighted the best individual cars on sale today in the eyes of owners.

Owners provided feedback over 36 categories, covering everything from practicality to reliability and quality, with each brand’s score reflecting an average performance across all areas. Value for money is also considered, which means our top 10 includes a range of different brands at varying price points.

Top 10 most reliable cars 2024

In 2022, the Driver Power survey was updated to include a percentage score for the number of owners who suffered a fault with their cars in the first year of ownership. This data, combined with the results across 36 ownership categories, has then been fastidiously analysed to give you a true picture of the experiences of genuine owners and what they really think of the car makers operating in the UK car market.

The results represent crucial information to have before heading to showrooms or drawing up a shortlist of cars. Our results show brands fall into clear categories, with some excelling in making cars fun to drive, while others nail practicality, cheap running costs or reliability.

Read on for the Driver Power 2024 manufacturer results to see which brand is most likely to suit you...

10. Land Rover

• Overall score: 87.63%
• Owners with a reported fault: 40.6%

While many of the brands in Driver Power 2024 posted a spread of consistent scores, the same can’t be said for Land Rover. Owners were thrilled about some aspects of their car, including interior design, fit and finish, ride and handling, drivetrains and boot space, all of which were comfortably in the top 10. Exterior design was ranked the best of all the brands on sale, too, proving that Land Rover’s classy image still has plenty of appeal.

You’d think that would be enough to rocket Land Rover to the top spot in this survey, but those mighty results were balanced out by a string of rock-bottom scores for anything cost or reliability related. The brand came dead last for value for money, with low scores for economy, insurance and servicing. To make matters worse, 40.6% of owners reported a fault within the first year of ownership – the second worst score in the survey, only behind…

9. Jaguar

• Overall score: 87.72%
• Owners with a reported fault: 43.6%

With the largest percentage of owners reporting faults within the first year of ownership, at a worryingly high 43.6%, it’s surprising that Jaguar has managed to squeeze its way into the UK’s top 10 favourite car brands to own. However, Jaguar pulls back in some key areas that matter to premium car buyers, including exterior design and quality, interior and powertrains.

Less impressive was its 25th-place finish for MPG and running costs, along with its 26th-place spot for value. Still, Jaguar remains one of the favourite premium brands in the eyes of British car owners.

8. Toyota

• Overall score: 87.74%
• Owners with a reported fault: 18.1%

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Toyota performed well in the reliability category, but strong finishes in other areas, including ride and handling, driving pleasure, and MPG and running costs, gave it a high enough overall score to break into the top 10 in 2024. Only 18.1% of owners reported a fault in the first year of driving, as well, bolstering the brand’s reputation for dependability.

There are still some areas for improvement, however. Owners were less impressed when it came to practicality and boot space, and many felt that the built-in sat-nav wasn’t up to scratch.

7. Mazda

• Overall score: 88.01%
• Owners with a reported fault: 25.0%

Mazda posted a great all-round performance in this year’s Driver Power owner’s survey. Of particular note were its high scores for everything infotainment related; user-friendliness of the controls was voted the best of the lot, while smartphone connectivity and the balance between touchscreen and physical controls both came in the top three. That goes to show how highly owners value Mazda’s easy to use, well laid out interiors.

Exterior design was voted within the top 10, although Mazda’s sleek design language did have a drawback – the Japanese brand placed 26th for all-round visibility. Acceleration was also a weak point, but owners had little to complain about for the remaining categories.

6. Peugeot

• Overall score: 88.03%
• Owners with a reported fault: 20.8%

Although Peugeot didn’t shine above the rest in any one particular area, consistently high results across nearly every category earned the French brand sixth place. If there was one category where it faltered, it was infotainment; owners struggled with its user-friendliness and weren’t happy about the balance between touchscreen and physical controls. However, top 10 finishes for MPG and running costs, powertrains, and ride and handling clawed back some vital points.

Another highlight was Peugeot’s reliability – only 20.8% of owners reported a fault during the first year of ownership.

5. Citroen

• Overall score: 89.16%
• Owners with a reported fault: 15.1%

Citroen excelled in this year’s Driver Power survey in all areas related to cost of ownership. Its fifth-place finish for value was impressive, but three silver medals for running costs, servicing and insurance, solidified its position as one of the best affordable brands. Owners voted it fourth for MPG and sixth for front-seat comfort, while it performed consistently across the remaining categories.

As Citroen falls under the same Stellantis ownership as Peugeot, and the two brands share many of their components, it’s no surprise that Citroen proved similarly reliable. Only 15.1% of owners reported a fault during the first year of ownership, the lowest percentage out of the top 10 brands.

4. Porsche

• Overall score: 89.16%
• Owners with a reported fault: 36.0%

Porsche has long been known for its range of well-built performance cars, and that trend has continued into 2024 according to owners. It was voted the best for exterior finish quality, which is no surprise given how well put together its cars are. Exterior design ranked highly, too, in second place, as did interior design and finish, and ride and handling.

No Porsche is cheap, so the brand unsurprisingly lost points when it came to value for money. Faults were fairly common among owners as well, with 36% having an issue during year one of ownership.

3. Kia

• Overall score: 89.35%
• Owners with a reported fault: 24.3%

It seems that Kia has been on an endless upward trajectory for the past few years, and its efforts have paid off with owners, who ranked the South Korean brand as the third best car maker in the UK. It didn’t earn first place in any one particular area, but with a top 10 finish in every category bar one, Kia was one of the strongest performers across the board.

Owners were particularly delighted with Kia’s value for money and its infotainment systems, while only 24.3% of owners reported a fault within the first year of ownership.

2. Tesla

• Overall score: 90.55%
• Owners with a reported fault: 37.9%

A single-place improvement from 2023, Tesla is the runner-up brand in the 2024 Driver Power owner’s survey. A pioneer in the EV market, it’s no surprise that the North American car maker achieved first place in the powertrain category, thanks to the power and smoothness of its electric motors. It also beat the competition for MPG and running costs, as well as for infotainment, with its giant central touchscreens proving a hit with owners.

Faults remain fairly high for the brand, with nearly 38% of owners reporting a problem during the first year of ownership, but this at least represents a small improvement over last year.

1. Subaru

• Overall score: 90.66%
• Owners with a reported fault: 27.9%

Despite a shrinking presence in the UK, Subaru has been voted the best car brand to own by drivers. With only three models on sale on our shores, Subaru’s overall win may come as a surprise to some, but the Japanese brand has routinely scored highly with owners, finishing fourth in the 2023 survey.

Subaru was awarded the top spot for five separate categories in this year’s Driver Power survey, and there were only two instances where it finished outside of the top five, those being fuel economy and acceleration. Everywhere else, Subaru excelled, and it seems like drivers couldn’t be happier with their ownership experience.

The best car manufacturers 2024: 1-32 rankings  

The best car manufacturers 2023: 1-32 rankings