World News:Volkswagen voted Europe's best car maker

The website which provides a forum for motorists to discuss and report on the respective merits and drawbacks of the cars they drive, polled the opinion of some of its 140,000 monthly visitors to determine which car maker consumers consider to produce the best and most reliable cars. Volkswagen stormed into the lead taking over a third of the total vote (35 per cent).

Impressively, the Volkswagen group has completely and successfully turned round the image of car brand Skoda too, with the Czech carmaker coming second in the poll. In fact, the Volkswagen group dominated all the way, with its Spanish brand, SEAT coming third.

“Volkswagen has always had a great reputation; it is an aspirational yet affordable brand. It has worked hard to strike that rare balance and UK car buyers love the carmaker’s models as a result,” the site’s spokesperson, Faye Sunderland said.

Volkswagen took a 31 per cent stake in Skoda way back in 1991, but did not complete its buyout until 2000. With a backlog of Skoda jokes to wade through, the remarketing of the brand was not for the faint-hearted. In less than a decade since it took complete control, Skoda has become one of the most popular carmakers in Europe. In fact, up to October 2009, Skoda sold 29,534 models in UK through 2009. Volkswagen, as the bigger brand sold 134,278.

“No one is laughing at Skoda now. We hear all sorts of glowing reports about popular Skoda models, the Fabia, the Octavia and new edition, the Yeti. These cars like their Volkswagen counterparts, the Polo, the Golf, the Passat, are widely and glowingly appraised on RoadTestReports.co.uk,” Sunderland comments.

“To completely turn around the Skoda brand in such a short time really proves the quality of the goods that Volkswagen produces. Joined by SEAT in third place, Volkswagen can proudly say that as far as UK car buyers are concerned, they produce the best affordable cars in Europe,” she concludes.

Credits: