Top Gear Survey 1 to 137. Not bad for a manufacturer with such a small range :cool:

1: Jaguar XJ Series - 90.9
2: Toyota Yaris - 90.5
3: Skoda Octavia - 90.4
4: Lexus IS200 - 90.2
5: Honda S2000 - 89.8
6: Mazda MX-5 - 88.9
7: Toyota Celica (new) - 88.4
8: BMW Z3 - 88.3
9: Mazda 323 - 88.1
10: Subaru Legacy - 88.1
11: Skoda Fabia - 88.1
12: Porsche 911 - 88.0
13: Rover MG ZT - 88.0
14: Honda HR-V - 88.0
15: Subaru Impreza (new) - 87.9
16: BMW X5 - 87.7
17: Subaru Forester - 87.3
18: Mazda 626 - 87.0
19: MCC Smart - 86.9
20: Porsche Boxster - 86.7
21: Toyota RAV4 (new) - 86.6
22: Toyota Corolla (pre-Dec 01) - 86.4
23: BMW 5-Series - 86.4
24: Honda CR-V - 86.3
25: Honda Accord - 86.3
26: Subaru Impreza (pre-Oct 00) - 86.2
27: Hyundai Coupe (pre-Jan 02) - 85.9
28: Honda Civic (new) - 85.7
29: Honda Civic (pre-Dec 00) - 85.5
30: Jaguar XK8/R - 85.5
31: BMW 3-Series - 85.5
32: BMW 3-Series (Compact) - 85.2
33: Toyota MR2 (new) - 85.0
34: Mini One/Cooper - 84.7
35: Volvo S60 - 84.5
36: Saab 9-5 - 84.5
37: Audi A4 (pre-Jan 01) - 84.4
38: Audi A6 - 84.3
39: Skoda Felicia - 84.0
40: Toyota Avensis - 84.0
41: Ford Puma - 83.9
42: Jaguar S-Type - 83.8
43: Lotus Elise (pre-Dec 01) - 83.8
44: Audi A4 (new) - 83.8
45: Seat Toledo - 83.7
46: Nissan Micra - 83.3
47: Rover MG ZS - 82.4
48: Rover 75 - 82.2
49: Ford Cougar - 82.1
50: Nissan Primera (pre-Feb 02) - 82.0
51: Ford Focus - 82.0
52: Audi A3 - 80.2
53: Seat Leon - 81.8
54: Volvo V70 - 81.7
55: Citroen Berlingo - 81.7
56: Audi TT - 81.6
57: Mercedes E-Class - 81.6
58: Hyundai Accent (new) - 81.5
59: Saab 9-3 - 81.4
60: Volvo V40 - 81.4
61: Volvo S80 - 81.0
62: Chrysler PT Cruiser - 80.9
63: Seat Arosa - 80.9
64: Nissan Almera - 80.7
65: Vauxhall Corsa (new) - 80.5
66: Daewoo Lanos - 80.4
67: Daewoo Matiz - 80.3
68: Chrysler Neon (new) - 80.3
69: Mitsubishi Galant - 80.3
70: Mercedes SLK - 80.2
71: Audi A2 - 80.1
72: Rover 400 - 80.1
73: Suzuki Grand Vitara - 80.0
74: Vauxhall Omega - 79.9
75: Lotus Elise (new) - 79.8
76: Vauxhall Zafira - 79.8
77: Merc C-Class (pre-Sept 00) - 79.7
78: Volkswagen Passat - 79.6
79: Volkswagen Bora - 79.5
80: Rover 45 - 79.4
81: Ford Ka - 79.3
82: Kia Sedona - 79.1
83: Volvo C70 - 79.1
84: Rover 200 - 79.0
85: Alfa Romeo 166 - 78.9
86: Mercedes CLK - 78.9
87: Seat Ibiza - 78.7
88: Vauxhall Astra - 78.7
89: Volvo S40 - 78.7
90: Citroen Xsara - 78.4
91: Ford Mondeo (new) - 78.3
92: Ford Fiesta (pre-April 02) - 78.2
93: Fiat Multipla - 77.9
94: Volkswagen Lupo - 77.7
95: Vauxhall Corsa (pre-Oct 00) - 77.3
96: Volkswagen Polo (pre-Jan 02) - 77.3
97: Volkswagen Beetle - 77.0
98: Land Rover Discovery - 77.0
99: Seat Alhambra - 76.7
100: Renault Laguna (pre-Dec 00) - 76.6
101: Rover 25 - 76.6
102: Fiat Marea - 76.6
103: Rover MG ZR - 76.6
104: Jaguar X-Type - 76.4
105: Ford Mondeo (pre-Oct 00) - 76.3
106: Volkswagen Golf - 76.3
107: Renault Megane - 76.2
108: Renault Scenic - 76.0
109: Fiat Seicento - 76.0
110: Vauxhall Vectra - 75.9
111: Renault Clio - 75.8
112: Alfa Romeo GTV - 75.8
113: Peugeot 306 - 75.7
114: Ford Escort - 75.6
115: Jeep Grand Cherokee - 75.4
116: Alfa Romeo 147 - 75.1
117: Fiat Brava - 75.0
118: Peugeot 406 - 74.8
119: Mitsubishi Carisma - 74.7
120: Land Rover Defender - 74.5
121: Peugeot 206 - 74.3
122: Citroen C5 - 74.1
123: Rover MGF - 74.0
124: Peugeot 106 - 73.8
125: Fiat Bravo - 73.8
126: Mercedes A-Class - 73.7
127: Mercedes C-Class (new) - 73.6
128: Citroen Saxo - 73.2
129: Ford Galaxy - 73.1
130: Land Rover Freelander - 73.1
131: Alfa Romeo 156 - 72.9
132: Fiat Punto (new) - 72.5
133: Mercedes M-Class - 69.6
134: Renault Laguna (new) - 68.9
135: Peugeot 307 - 68.7
136: Renault Espace - 68.2
137: Volkswagen Sharan - 67.1

Until you realise that both the Skoda Octavia and Fabia are in the top 12

"26: Subaru Impreza (pre-Oct 00) - 86.2 "

Not bad for an obsolete model!!

3 roadsters in the top 8 :confused:

Is part of the reason because they are "usually" 2nd/weekend cars?

IMHO...

If the survey isn't weighted in terms of total number of owners and how the car is used (as Boro said above) then it doesn't really work. Most of the top cars are specialist where the owners are "enthusiasts" and love the car for what it is and does - they tend to look at ownership issues thru rose-tinted glasses.

- Mark.

IMO a lot of it is down to expectation. You buy a Skoda expecting the worst and are pleasantly surprised to find it reliable, economical, good dealerships etc. You buy a VW/Merc expecting tip top dealerships and are disappointed to find them merely average. On a scale of 1 to 10 both ownership experiences are the same, but the skoda gets marked up and the VW marked down because of different expectations.

Asking the question: was the ownership experience better or worse than you expected? might be more revealing.

Well since the JD Power was weighted to punish the Impreza and Evo a survey that actually asks the owners what they think of the car and the service they get form the dealers is in my view far fairer!

I have driven a Skoda Octavia and actually it is a very nice, comforbanle car. You have to look at it this way Audi is an expensive VW which is an expensive and not as nice Skoda... it all comes down to badge snobbery.