The Skoda Yeti has taken the top spot overall in the 2012 Auto Express Driver Power survey – the biggest car owner survey in the UK. In fact, Skoda took three of the top four spots, with the Superb in second and Octavia in fourth.
The top five places were rounded out by the Mercedes E-Class in third place and the Jaguar XF in fifth spot. In terms of in-car technology, the cars rated most highly by their owners were Nissans, with the Qashqai in first place and the Juke in fourth. Nissan does major on providing more technology per pound than its main rivals, so it is interesting to see that customers appreciate the fact.

The overall success of Skoda suggests its phrase “Manufacturer of Happy Drivers” is more like a job description than a slogan. We once interviewed a group of Skoda owners and a more smug, sorry, happy bunch you could not meet. They felt they had discovered a secret (how to buy a VW on the cheap) and they thought they were way cleverer than drivers of other cars.

They liked the cars and they liked the dealers, especially the long-time ones that had grown up on Communist-era Skodas and had learned that great customer relations was the only way of keeping customers in the bad old days. They have kept their customer relations skills, but have infinitely less remedial work to do nowadays.

As another advert might put it :”Good family car, £15,000. Feeling really happy about it…priceless. ”