The best and worst value cars in Britain

We reveal the results of the lovemoney.com super-poll on the cars which offer the best and worst value on the road today. Don't buy a car without reading this!

It's easy to say which cars are the fastest, most reliable and most expensive. But which cars offer the best value - and which offer the worst?

We surveyed 1,500 lovemoney.com readers to find out. All participants were asked only to rate cars that they own, and drive every day. 

So, without further ado, when it comes to value for money, here are the most loved and most loathed car brands in the UK today, as voted for by you:

Top three most loved cars in the UK

Number 1 - Mini

How can you argue with this? Cheeky good looks, iron cast residuals, fantastic warranty, frugal on fuel and a hoot to drive - what more do you want?

You told us it has the coolest car brand, with the strongest residuals. It was also in the top five for fuel economy and for the quality of its warranty.

The experts think you are spot on: actual residual values are about as good as they get, with Minis holding onto almost 54% of their value over three years. Add to this the option of paying £185 to buy their excellent 50k/5 year warranty and it is a fine financial proposition - despite the fact that's it not exactly jam-packed with standard equipment.

Personally, I couldn't agree more with the respondents of our survey. A couple of years back, I had a works Mini, I spent nothing on services, had great fun running it around for two years and it only cost me two new front tyres and £1k in depreciation.

Price range: £4k for a high mileage 2001 Mini one to £20k for a fully loaded Works Cooper S.

Writer's choice: A Mini Cooper will be cheap to run and fun. A new shape low mileage 2006/07 could be yours for around £9k. Make sure it has the remainder of the TLC warranty for piece of mind.

Verdict: The car you can buy with your head and your heart. The coolest car for the credit crunch generation.

Number 2 - Hyundai

Hyundai, you told us, offers a good package at a good price. Their five-year unlimited mileage warranty was voted best, and the car you get for the price you pay, you said, is extremely good value. That said, you also told us you would need that five-year warranty as Hyundai cars ranked sixth most unreliable. Luckily, the dealers ranked third best, so it seems you are reasonably well catered when it does go wrong.

Price range: The price of 2002 Hyundai Getz will range from around £1.5K up to £27k for a top spec new Santa Fe. Mid range new hatches are around £15k new.

Writer's choice: Styling on the newer cars is much better, best is the i20 which is also green, well equipped, has that 5 year warranty, should hold its value well and cost from around £10k new. Entry level i20's comes with a CD player, air conditioning, and electric windows so why get a top spec?

Verdict: Hyundai offer a real customer focused package, all the toys and none of the pain.

Number 3 - Honda

Honda is probably the best all rounder. You said these cars barely sipped any fuel and held onto their value well. You love Honda dealers, ranking them second. And when it came to reliability, you ranked Honda cars number three - a very decent score. Plus, the 90,000 mile/3 year warranty is excellent, you said. But this survey is all about value and unfortunately, Honda cars fell down on pricing compared to their peers. Mind you, this doesn't seem to stop their owners being happy.

Price range: £11k for a new funky Jazz all the way up to £40k for the recently deceased Legend.

Writer's choice: Previous model Accord is a stylish saloon when compared to its peers. Super reliable, great residuals and long service intervals make it a great financial choice.  A low mileage 2007 petrol Accord could be yours for around £9.5k and should provide trouble free mile munching for years to come.

Verdict: The most sensible cars money can buy

Top three most loathed cars in the UK

Number 1 - Rover

While it was close at the top, the same could not be said at the bottom. Rover was roundly panned by their unlucky drivers. You ranked Rovers the least cool car, which was most likely to breakdown. Dealerships don't exist any longer with the collapse of the parent company, so there's no way to buy a new one. But if you want to get shot of a Rover you better not hope for much money back, as you also ranked them most likely to depreciate.

Even if you buy one used it will probably be a false economy.

Writer's says: Avoid the 45, outdated when new, unreliable, not well equipped, and even has a poor safety record.

Verdict: No fun, no value and you'll look like a cheapskate

Number 2 - Subaru

This was a real shock to us, as Subaru has been the darling of many a JD Power survey. And for reliability you ranked them second only to Lexus. Unfortunately the only other glimmer of hope was a fairly good warranty.

So what are the reasons you loathe this car? Subaru cars ranked the worst on fuel, the most expensive to insure and have the fourth worst residual value when compared to their peers. Dig a little deeper and you will find a sporty Subaru Impreza will only be worth a third of its new price in three years, does 27 mpg, has £405 annual road tax and is in insurance group 18. Ouch.

Writer's says: Impreza STI is a darling of the playstation generation, but not for the lovemoney.com crew. It's expensive on every level; a used previous generation Honda Civic Type R is a fun alternative that won't break the bank.

Verdict: Ok cars but they'll make you pay!

Number 3 - Renault

Not Rover bad, but an ugly all rounder. You voted Renault cars among the least cool, with the third worst dealers and fourth poorest warranties. Added to this, you told us Renault cars were the third most unreliable as well as offering the third poorest residual value.  

My brother has a Laguna and he is on first name terms with his dealer. He bought his used, but buy one new and you will be lucky to get 30% of what you paid back after three years.

Writer's says: Any Renault with a large engine is financial suicide. Laguna, Avantime, Vel Satis and Espace with the 3 litre + engine will be extremely expensive without any real benefits. 

Verdict: Could do with more French Flair and some German engineering, a pain in the derrière?

A special mention to:

• Skoda - The butt of 80's jokes, VW owned Skoda has become the 4th most loved car brand in the UK today.
• MG - Despite the sister company Rover being the least cool, MG with a similar product range was the 4th coolest. Bright paint and fat wheels works eh?
• Aston Martin - We didn't have enough respondents to include them in the table, but the three owners surveyed were happier than any others.
• Full results - Want to know where your car brandranked for each area? Check out the table below - cars are ranked out of 30 for each category, with 1 being the highest rank, and the best score.

Finally thanks for all of you that completed the survey. Remember that to get the best price on car insurance use our comparison service, or adopt a goal to Cut your car costs.