Nice reading

pan · September 4, 2002

Nice Lex, shame about Fiat By KEN GIBSON

Motoring Editor

THE posh Japanese Lexus IS200 has been rated top car by British drivers in a major new survey.

The sleek £18,000 motor took the No1 spot in a poll of 37,000 motorists - and helped Lexus secure top car manufacturer.

But the Top Gear magazine survey, the biggest in Britain, was bad news for Italian firms - with Fiat and Alfa Romeo bottom in the table of car makers.

The independent study quizzed owners about quality, reliability and customer care as well as the actual driving experience for 120 models made by 33 manufacturers.

Skoda continued its drive towards the top with both its Octavia and Fabia models in the top ten.

The firm finished fourth in the manufacturers table - ahead of luxury car giants BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar.

The worst car was Vauxhall’s Tigra coupe while the “go anywhere” Land Rover Discovery was the most unreliable.

A little car that made a big impact was the Mercedes-owned Smart car, finishing third overall.

It also came top of the city car category and was voted as most versatile and cheap to run.

The new BMW Mini was voted most fun car to drive - while the Suzuki Swift was the motor which gave the worst driving experience.

Japanese firms dominated the top ten car makers - with Lexus first, Toyota fifth, Subaru sixth, Mazda eighth and Honda tenth.

The Germans also did well with Porsche third, BMW in seventh place and Audi ninth.

But the survey made embarrassing reading for some of the top-selling car firms in the UK.

Volkswagen, Ford, Vauxhall and Rover came in a disappointing 22nd, 26th, 27th and 28th in the manufacturers table.

Popular models like the high-selling Renault Espace and Ford Galaxy finished in the bottom three.

And the survey was especially depressing for owners of Fiats and Alfa Romeos.

The Alfa 156, voted Car of the Year by motoring writers in 1997, came 114th and the Fiat Bravo 116th out of 120.

The rugged Subaru Forester, which came second overall, earned the title as best built car from owners.

There was good news for Jaguar, already enjoying record sales this year, with its S-Type topping the large executive car sector and the X-Type coming second in the junior exec table.

TOP TEN MANUFACTURERS: 1 Lexus; 2 Smart; 3 Porsche; 4 Skoda; 5 Toyota; 6 Subaru; 7 BMW; 8 Mazda; 9 Audi; 10 Honda.

BOTTOM TEN: 24 Renault; 25 Citroen; 26 Ford; 27 Vauxhall; 28 Rover; 29 Peugeot; 30 Jeep; 31 Land Rover; 32 Fiat; 33 Alfa Romeo.