BRITISH-built cars are the best when it comes to picking up a used model.
That’s the verdict in the What Car? Used Car of the Year Awards which puts the Nissan Qashqai at the top.
The Qashqai, built in Sunderland, came out ahead of the rest in the poll which also saw the Birmingham-built Jaguar XF named the best used executive and luxury car.
Ford picked up a hat trick of awards with last year’s overall winner, the Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Zetec 5dr, voted best used family car, the Ford Fiesta 1.25i Style+ 5dr the best used supermini, and the Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Zetec the best used MPV.
Chas Hallett, What Car?’s editor-in-chief, said: “All the teams involved in the production of both the Nissan Qashqai and the Jaguar XF should be really proud of their achievements.
"The quality of these cars was great when they were new, and three years later they make unbeatable-value used buys.”
Volkswagen won two awards – the Golf 1.6 TDI SE 5dr was voted the best used green car and the Passat Estate 1.9 TDI SE the best used estate, while Porsche won the used sports car category and the Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX 7st was named best SUV.
The seven-strong judging panel was from all areas of the motor industry, including car dealerships, British Car Auctions, Warranty Direct, Lex Autolease and experts from What Car? who looked running costs, reliability, driveability, quality, longevity, safety features and desirability.
The full list of winners in the 2011 What Car? Used Car of the Year Awards are:
Supermini - Ford Fiesta 1.25i Style+ 5dr
(pay £6,000 at a dealer for an 2008/08 model, £5,200 private sale)
Small family car -Nissan Qashqai 1.6 Visia
(pay £7,980 at a dealer for an 2007/07 model, £7,345 private sale)
Family car - Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Zetec 5dr
(pay £7,595 at a dealer for an 2007/57 model, £6,250 private sale)
Estate - VW Passat Estate 1.9 TDI SE
(pay £6,810 at a dealer for an 2006/06 model, £6,325 private sale)
MPV - Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Zetec
(pay £10,100 at a dealer for an 2007/57 model, £9,325 private sale)
SUV - Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX 7st
(pay £12,100 at a dealer for an 2007/57 model, £11,210 private sale)
Executive & luxury - Jaguar XF 2.7D V6
(pay £19,120 at a dealer for an 2008/08 model, £17,895 private sale)
Sports car - Porsche Boxster 2.7
(pay £16,200 at a dealer for an 2006/56 model, £15,100 private sale)
Green car - VW Golf 1.6 TDI SE 5dr
(pay £12,300 at a dealer for an 2009/09 model, £11,900 private sale)
Overall winner - Nissan Qashqai 1.6 Visia