Skoda scoops yet another gong!

The UK seems to be in love with Skoda. The Czech brand has scooped first place in the Auto Express Driver Power survey, just weeks after coming out on top of Top Gear’s customer satisfaction survey.

Last year, the Skoda Octavia finished second, setting a record for the highest entry of a new model. This year, owners were even more satisfied with their Octavias as it moved to the top spot. This latest glowing report from Skoda owners means that 2007 is the fourth consecutive year that a Skoda model has finished in the top five.

Tens of thousands of readers took part in the survey, which asked them for their opinions on all aspects of ownership. They were quizzed on their car’s reliability, build quality, running costs, performance and ease of driving: basically everything that contributes to a favourable (or otherwise) ownership experience.

David Johns, Auto Express’ Editor in Chief, said: “The Octavia is a deserving winner of the Best Car title in Driver Power 2007. With great reliability and a strong set of results across our judging categories it will be tough to beat in next year’s survey. Owners have struggled to find any faults with Skoda’s family car.”

Skoda has picked up a plethora of titles and gongs over the years, both for the cars themselves and for customer satisfaction. From the first-generation Fabia (Auto Express and What Car? Car of the Year in 2000), to the Fabia vRS (Diesel Car Best Performance Diesel, 2004) to the Octavia (What Car? Best Small Family Car, 2005, 2006), Octavia vRS (What Car? Hot Hatch 2006) and the new Roomster (Scottish Best Family Car 2006), Skoda cars continue to impress.

Customer satisfaction awards tell the same story: Skoda owners love their cars so much that Skoda has been ranked in the Top Five in the J D Power survey of customer satisfaction for the past 11 years, the only manufacturer who can make that claim. Skoda has been ranked second overall for four consecutive years in the Driver Power.

Skoda UK Director, Chris Craft, is delighted, but not surprised by this latest success. “Having toppled Lexus from the top spot in the Top Gear customer satisfaction survey last month, we’re delighted with the news that Octavia is the top car in this latest survey from Auto Express. We put our customers at the heart of everything we do, from the design and quality of the cars that ensures they are easy and rewarding to live with, through to our retailers who take pride in the service they provide throughout the ownership of the car. That’s what we mean when we say that Skoda is the Manufacturer of Happy Drivers; these results bear that out.”

With the all-new Fabia hitting the streets in May of this year and more new products to follow, Skoda’s mantelpiece could become even more crowded over the next couple of years.