Best and worst cars for convenience – Which? News
Best and worst cars for convenience
We’ve sifted through the two thousand thirteen Which? Car Survey results to find which cars you find the most…and the least comfy to live with.
Who better to ask about car convenience than the people who drive their cars day in and day out. That’s why we asked owners to rate their cars for convenience in the two thousand thirteen Which? Car Survey. And more than 47,000 people rated their cars for this and eight other areas, including value for money, styling and build quality.
Best and worst for convenience
You’d very likely expect luxury cars to sit at the top of the convenience leaderboard, but large 4x4s actually take three of the top five catches sight of. Perhaps unsurprisingly, petite and cheap superminis make up the bottom five.
The most convenient cars – as rated by you
Even with a fresh model on forecourts, few can challenge the previous generation Range Rover in the large Four×Four class. It’s the epitome of convenience, off-road capability and luxury, with a very spacious and comfy cabin. Range Rover enthusiasts told us that ‘it is eminently comfy’, and many owners mentioned the ‘superb driving position’. One Range Rover proprietor sums it up with: ‘the Range Rover provides the most capable, comfy and stress free driving I’ve experienced in forty years on the road’.
A kind of Volvo V70 on stilts, the XC70 combines convenience, luxury and practicality with added off-road capability. It is solidly built and effortless to drive, and has lots of space for passengers. Owners were particularly pleased with how well it ‘treats in all conditions’, and that it’s ‘enormously comfy in summer and winter’.
Lexus is obviously doing something right as this model appeared in last year’s top five most convenient cars too. A lot of people are particularly pleased with how hushed the cabin is. ‘Excellent convenience’, ‘very quiet to drive’ were among the comments we received.
This Jaguar may be old fashioned on the outside, but the technology underneath and the level of convenience and luxury it provides is very up to date. No matter how long the journey, this Jaguar gets owners to their destination relaxed and unruffled. Owners praised both the XJ’s convenience and refinement. One said: ‘it is fairly the best looking, fastest, most convenient, quietest car I have wielded’.
The Lexus GS is, ‘convenient, quiet, reliable and always a joy to be in’. The 2nd Lexus in our top five line-up, the GS shrugs off long journeys with ease. The interior is well put together and there’s enough space to unwind. Few cars can dispatch long drives as lightly as this Lexus and ‘effortless luxury’ was one phrase that came to mind for a number of GS owners.
The least convenient cars – as rated by you
This bestselling supermini was bought in droves over its long lifetime, but despite slew of space in the front, the driving position is awful and visibility is terrible too, according to owners. Suspect build quality and iffy reliability further tarnish the 206’s reputation.
Another popular supermini languishing at the bottom of our list, owners found little to like about the old Corsa’s convenience thanks to its stiff rail and hard seats. Also coming in for criticism from owners was the overly harsh suspension and the lack of power steering on some models.
This generation of the Ka sold well for all of its twelve years. It drives nicely, especially for the cheap price tag, but it seems that Ford has overlooked the car’s convenience with owners rating the Ka perilously close to the bottom of our list. Many owners aren’t pleased with the ‘awkward seating’ especially ‘when using the rear seats for a long time’.
The one hundred seven is cheap to buy and run. Its size and good visibility make it a practical city car, but owners aren’t fans of the stimulations over longer journeys. Noise levels are also problematic and we eyed complaints that the one hundred seven is both noisy at higher speeds and in low gears. One proprietor described the one hundred seven as, ‘cramped, with a lack of storage space, and very awkward for rear seat passengers’.
Way down at the bottom of the pile is the Citroen Saxo, 6% below the next least comfy car. This cramped machine is earnestly outdated, with a woeful two-star NCAP safety score and bicep-building steering, should you forego the optional power steering. Owners found the Saxo noisy and mentioned its ‘awkward rail on all except slick roads’. The petite, closely spaced pedals also make even the simplest manoeuvres stiffer than they should be.