Toyota is Britain's favourite car

A tiny Japanese city car - costing just £6,995 - is a far better buy than grand saloons costing four or five times as much, a major new survey reveals today.

The Toyota Yaris races to the top in an exhaustive 144-vehicle study which is Britain's most authoritative guide to customer satisfaction, quality and reliability.

A sporty Lexus IS200 - costing £18,000 and made by the luxury arm of Toyota - scoops second place.

In third-equal place for overall customer satisfaction is a British car - the mighty £35,000 Jaguar XJ series built at Coventry - and, in a vote of confidence that would have been unthinkable just five years ago, the Skoda Octavia.

Relegated to the very bottom of the customer satisfaction index by consumer giant JD Power, however, is the old Rover Mini, originally introduced in 1959 but later updated.

This now-discontinued car is roundly criticised by owners on whose opinions the survey is based.

The Mini - once a style icon driven by stars such as Peter Sellars and Twiggy and Royals such as the Queen and Prince Charles - received a "dismal" score according to What Car? which helped compile the results.

The vehicle is criticised for its quality-and practicality, the way it drives and running costs.

Second from the bottom is another product from the Rover factory before it was taken over by MG Rover: the discontinued 800 model, which, owners say, has reliability problems and is expensive to repair despite its £18,000 price tag when new.

Third from bottom is the Renault Espace, the first "people-carrier" to widely go on sale in Britain. It is criticised for its reliability and the high cost of repairs. But it is a good survey for manufacturers in Britain. The Rover 75, built at Longbridge in the Midlands, is ranked at number 12 in the satisfaction survey, with the Toyota Corolla, built at Burnaston in Derbyshire, ranked 10th and the Nissan Micra, built at Sunderland, ranked 20th.

According to JD Power, motorists should also choose Japanese cars if high vehicle quality - instead of overall satisfaction - is the priority. In its separate Vehicle Quality-category, Japanese cars scoop nine out of the top 10 places with just one German car - the BMW 3-Series - breaking in at number nine.

The vehicle showing the highest level of quality is again the Toyota Yaris, followed by the Lexus IS200, the Mazda MX-5 and the Subaru Legacy.

In the Vehicle Appeal category, the British-built Jaguar XJ comes first, followed by the BMW 5-Series, the Lexus IS200, the Mercedes E-Class and the Volvo S80.

Best car for cost of ownership is the Daewoo Matiz followed by the Toyota Yaris and two Skodas; the Fabia followed by the Octavia.

In terms of satisfaction with service levels from garages and dealerships the Jaguar XJ series comes first, followed by the Subaru Forester, the Toyota Yaris and the Proton Wira.

Today What Car? magazine said the findings "applauded the excellent ownership experience" delivered by "truly impressive Toyota" and its prestige Lexus division.

What Car? said the results were based on motorists' answers to 75 separate, probing questions assessing the owner's experience and the cars' reliability. "Some manufacturers should be proud that they are supplying exactly what the customer wants," said a What Car? spokesman.

"However there is plenty of room for improvement at the bottom of the table."

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