No more Skoda jokes

The Czech Republic produces the best cars, according to a detailed study of car brands conducted by The Car Expert.*

The analysis ranked countries from best to worst based on the cars and car brands that were originally created there.

Utilising the Expert Rating Index, it studied how UK motoring journalists rate cars from each country.  Over 340 new car models that were on sale in the UK as of 1 March 2022 were analysed in the study. Brands are grouped together by their country of origin, rather than where factories may be based. To give a fair Expert Rating, high volume models needed a minimum of 10 automotive reviews.

All round excellence

The Czech Republic scores an impressive 76% average in the data-driven rankings. This is thanks to the high scoring all-rounder Škoda and was followed by Sweden in second place (74%).

Traditionally seen by many as the best car-producing country, automotive giant Germany came in third place. Despite its high-ranking, premium brands such as Porsche (82%), BMW (73%) and Audi (73%), it was impacted by a number of lower-performing models. Most notably, Smart is the lowest performer of all brands within the analysis. It scores just 43%, which is significantly below that of Japanese brand Subaru (51%) was second from bottom.

British stiff upper lip

Britain is long established as creating some of the most upmarket vehicles in the world. However, it comes came fifth despite producing two of the most highly-rated cars – the McLaren 765 LT and Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Brands such as Bentley, Land Rover and Jaguar bolster Britain’s overall score. Journalists rating models such as the Continental GT, Defender and I-Pace particularly well. Vauxhall scored 62%, while MG averaged 53%, with two of its models, the MG 3 and ZS, among the bottom five cars, being critiqued for their Euro NCAP safety ratings.

Continental compromise

The comprehensive research placed France at the foot of the leaderboard. Citroen’s premium off-shoot, DS Automobiles, had low scores across all five models, averaging 57%. Renault and Citroën were also towards the bottom of the rankings, with generally average rankings for their models. However, both have notable stand-out models, including the Renault Clio and Citroën C5 Aircross.

In contrast to this, French brand Alpine topped the charts with a score of 88%. It lands the company the title of best overall brand. However, this score was made possible by the fact they only have the highly regarded A110 sports car on sale.

With just one brand of Czech origin on sale in the UK, Škoda’s entire range perform well.  Journalists ranked the Enyaq iV as the best performing in its range. While the Škoda Scala is its lowest performing car, it still earned a satisfactory score within its class.

Expect the unexpected

Stuart Masson, Editorial Director at The Car Expert, says many people “will be surprised”. This is particularly the case when considering the nation’s premium brands. However, “the title belongs to the Czech Republic”.

“Škoda has made huge strides over the years,” adds Masson. “Its line-up is praised consistently in the eyes of automotive journalists and consumers alike. Overall, Škoda’s value for money and ability to deliver cars that outperform many more expensive models”.

“Our Expert Rating Index is unique, drawing on a vast number of reviews from respected automotive titles and using our proprietary algorithm to assimilate this data into a percentage rating – it is effectively a meta-analysis for vehicles.”

For a more in-depth breakdown of The Car Expert’s analysis across the globe, click here.