JD Power Survey 2007 - Family cars

Want a family car that won't let you down, will be affordable to run, comfortable and good to drive? Better buy from a Czech or Japanese car manufacturer then.

Family car league table

1 Skoda Octavia
Rating 85.1%
Overall ranking 5th
Normal service resumes: the Skoda Octavia is back on top of the family car class after a brief drop to second place last year. As ever, it was a superbly consistent performer across the board - owners rating it as above average in every category.

In particular, they appreciated its low running costs - the Octavia was given the highest marks in the class for its fuel economy and maintenance costs. It was also one of only two cars in the class to score a very good rating for how much owners enjoyed driving it.

Mind you, it's not as if Octavia owners had anything to complain about. They were very happy with their dealers, the car's looks and its comfort. Last, but not least, no other car received higher ratings for quality and reliability: the Octavia proved to be well built and mechanically very solid.

2 Honda Accord
Rating 84.8%
Overall ranking 6th
The Accord might have slipped to second place this year — and it's only just behind the Octavia — but that was the only negative in another excellent performance.

Crucially, it was the only car in this class to score very good ratings in every appeal category. Owners enjoyed driving their car, found it comfortable and practical, and loved the styling inside and out.

They also rated the quality of service from their dealers more highly than the owners of any other car in the class. It was much the same story for the car's quality and reliability: the Accord was up with the very best.

3 Toyota Avensis
Rating 83.9%
Overall ranking 8th=
Excellent service from dealers and low running costs were what secured the Avensis third place in its class. On top of that, owners had no complaints about the way the car drove, and said it was practical and comfortable, as well as having a fine stereo.

The transmission proved especially reliable and the build quality was good, too, with the interior causing very few problems. If there was a surprise, it was that the Avensis rated as no better than average for mechanical problems, with the suspension being the weak point.

4 Skoda Superb
Rating 83.5%
Overall ranking11th
It's tight at the top of this class, and even the fourth car was only 1.6% off first place. Owners of the Superb were full of praise for their cars' low running costs, and loved the spacious, well laid-out interior and comfortable seats — in fact, no other car in the class was so highly rated for its seats.

There were only two places where the ratings dropped to merely average. First, there were a relatively high number of complaints with the exterior fittings and, secondly, there were some misgivings about Skoda's dealers.

5 Mazda 6
Rating 81.5%
Overall ranking 21st
It was the looks that owners most loved about their Mazda 6, but there was a lot more to its appeal than that. For example, only the two Skodas received higher ratings for the comfort and practicality of their cabins; the Mazda also proved very sound mechanically.

However, it wasn't all good news, as the build quality of the interior was rated as just average, with a relatively high number of problems reported with the ventilation system. Likewise, owners didn't particularly enjoy driving their cars or visiting the dealers.

6 Volkswagen Bora
Rating 81.3%
Overall ranking 23rd=
The Bora is VW's forgotten hero. People may more readily think of Polos and Golfs,
but the Bora finished ahead of both in the overall results, making it again the highest-ranked VW. As you might expect from such a shrinking violet, its performance is solid but unspectacular, with average or above-average ratings across the board.

Among the list of owners' likes were the excellent fuel consumption, low insurance costs and good mechanical reliability. They also thought the service from dealers was good, but said that the cost was rather high, and that the interior could have been more practical and better built.

7 Volvo S40/V40/V50
Rating 80.5%
Overall ranking35th=
You might not associate Volvo with good looks and a sharp drive. Yet, in this class, no other car scored such high marks for its looks or its drive as these Volvos.

Likewise, you'll probably be surprised that they weren't rated highly for their practicality, although owners did say the seats were comfortable, the dash well laid-out and the stereo second to none.

However, there were too many black marks for the car to feature any higher in the standings. In particular, owners were very critical of the high fuel costs, and said that quality and reliability were no better than average.

8 Volkswagen Passat
Rating 79.9%
Overall ranking 47th=
The Passat is often portrayed as something special, but its results here are firmly average. On the plus side, it means that its owners are basically happy. In fact, they liked
the good fuel consumption and were impressed with its mechanical reliability, reporting a below-average number of problems from the suspension.

On the other hand, there were some major misgivings, not least of which was that the Passat produced more complaints than any other car in the class about its exterior fittings. Owners also weren't overly taken with the car's styling, inside and out, or how it drove.

9 Mitsubishi Lancer
Rating 79.8%
Overall ranking 49th=
Had it not been for high running costs, the Lancer could well have finished several places higher. As it is, owners slated the costs of fuelling, servicing and insuring it.

Mind you, they swing from one extreme to the other, putting the Lancer second only to the Volvos for the way it looked, and saying the service from the dealers was above average.

Owners also appreciated the comfortable seats and good ventilation system, and reported that the build quality was good. However, they said that the stereo could have been better, and that the mechanical reliability was only average.

10 Subaru Legacy
Rating 79.7%
Overall ranking 51st=
The Legacy is much like the Lancer: perfectly decent in most respects, but too costly to run. The thirsty engines and pricey insurance were particular bugbears.

Otherwise, it was basically good news: owners liked the car's looks, its ride and handling, and there was plenty of praise for how easy it was to book a service and for the dealership staff. The car proved reliable and well built, too, and (costs aside) the only below-par score was for the practicality of the cabin.

11 Ford Mondeo
Rating 79.0%
Overall ranking 58th=
Broadly speaking, the only complaints about the Mondeo were how it looked - just the Vectra and Primera scored lower in this respect - and, perhaps more surprisingly, its ride and handling.

Otherwise, owners reported themselves happy with the car, rating it as no worse than average in six of the eight categories.

Inside, good scores for the car's practicality and ventilation were offset by below-par ratings for the seats and dash layout, while the build and reliability were good in every respect except one: a high number of engine problems.

12 Renault Laguna
Rating 78.6%
Overall ranking 65th=
Like the Mondeo, the Laguna rated as below average in just two categories. Owners' complaints centred on the high running costs and the interior build quality. On top of that, no other car in the class had as many problems with its transmission.

However, the suspension and engine were more hardy, meaning mechanical reliability overall was average. Likewise, owners liked the ride and handling, the comfortable seats and the dash layout, but thought the practicality could have been better.

13 Citroen C5
Rating 77.7%
Overall ranking 82nd=
Owners weren't happy with the way their C5s looked, or how much they cost to run, but the car's real problem was a shortage of quality. The C5 had the most complaints about its dashboard controls, and there was an above-average number of complaints about the stereo, ventilation system and exterior fittings.

On the other hand, mechanically it was no worse than average, and owners enjoyed the ride and handling, as well as the spacious interior. They had no major complaints about the dealers, either.

14 Vauxhall Vectra
Rating 76.4%
Overall ranking 93rd
The Vectra's only saving grace is that it proved reasonably well built. Otherwise, it could have been looking at its second consecutive year at the bottom of its class.

Owners didn't like how it drove, its running costs or the interior's lack of practicality, and slated the service from their dealers. However, the biggest criticisms were for how the car looked, its uncomfortable seats, awkward dash layout and poor stereo and ventilation systems. The Vectra was by far the worst car in this class for these aspects.

15 Nissan Primera
Rating 75.9%
Overall ranking 99th=
It's something of a shock to see a Nissan rated as below average in almost every respect. Worse still, this is a major drop from last year (joint 56th out of 105 cars), meaning the Primera finished joint 99th out of 113 cars tested.

The harshest words were for its servicing costs, but owners also didn't like the styling or the ventilation system. There were a huge number of problems with the suspension, while the reliability of the engine and the quality of its interior fixtures and fittings was also rated as below average.

16 Peugeot 407
Rating 75.0%
Overall ranking 105th
This is a very poor debut from the 407. With only one exception - its looks were rated average - it scored below-par ratings.

The biggest problem was a shortage of quality: no other car in this class was rated so badly for its mechanical reliability or build quality. On top of that, owners also slated their dealers, saying it was difficult to book their car in for service, the staff were unhelpful and the quality of work was poor.

Family car league table