J. D Power, the world leader and trusted advisor in consumer insights and brand performance has released their 2018 UK Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and there have been big changes since last year.

The study uncovered many more reports of problems from premium brand car owners than from those who drive volume brand vehicles and the problem is in-vehicle technology.

A clear winner

The J. D Power Vehicle Dependability Study — now in its fourth year — examines issues by the original owners of vehicles after one to three years of ownership and looks at those problems experienced within the past 12 months.

This UK VDS, conducted between February and April of this year, used the responses of 13,536 owners of new vehicles registered between February 2015-February 2017.

The top 13 best-performing cars in the UK are volume brands, with Hyundai ranking the highest—an improvement on an already superb fifth place, in 2017, and it doesn’t stop there for the Korean car manufacturer, who ranked well in the segment categories, too.

Hyundai i10 came top in the rankings for Best City Car, with the Hyundai i20 placing second in the Best Small Car category, and the brand ranked third highest for the Best Compact Car, with their Hyundai i30.

2018 Nameplate VDS Ranking

Problems per 100 vehicles (PP100)

Hyundai 78
Suzuki 87
Kia 94
Skoda 97
Nissan 100
SEAT 102
Dacia 105
Peugeot 107
Toyota 109
Vauxhall 113
Honda 115
Ford 116
Volkswagen 119
Mercedes-Benz 124
Mazda 127
Industry Average – 128
Jaguar 137
Volvo 138
Renault 139
Mini 153
Citroen 164
Land Rover 169
Audi 175
Fiat 177
BMW 192

What is the study measuring?

The principal measure of vehicle reliability involves the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100). The lower the score, the greater the quality of the vehicle and Hyundai ranked highest here, too, with a score of 78 PP100. Mercedes-Benz (124 PP100), ranked 14th overall on the 2018 VDS and were the highest-ranking premium brand of vehicle.

J. D Power examined 177 problems from eight categories, including features, controls, displays, engine, and transmission.

The Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Index measures satisfaction of car owners on a 1000 point scale. The industry average is 767, yet when any of the 10 most severe problems with in-vehicle technology occur, the APEAL index drops by 5-13%.

Fifty-four per cent of drivers of cars where none of the top 10 problems occurred said they ‘definitely will’ buy or lease the same brand of car again compared to only 37% of drivers who encountered one of the top 10 highest-severity problems.

Technology malfunctions

New and emerging in-vehicle technologies are wonderful when they work, but owners of premium cars report in-vehicle technology malfunctions, which continue for 12-36 months of vehicle ownership or lease.

Among the six most common owner-reported problems in the UK VDS included pairing and connectivity issues with Bluetooth devices, commands not being recognised with voice recognition technology, and—although not a commonplace problem—issues with engine and transmission continue to be of concern for motorists, due to their costly and sometimes dangerous consequences when they fail.

Despite the technological advancements made within the automotive industry, the biggest problem drivers face is of engines not starting.

Part of the reason premium brand vehicle owners are reporting more car problems is that the premium brand manufacturers are incorporating ever more complex features into their models, and, as we know, the more features something has, the greater the opportunity for things to go wrong.

Josh Halliburton, Head of European Operations at J.D. Power said, “Automotive systems are more complex than they’ve ever been and premium brands especially are incorporating autonomous driving building blocks—adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic braking—into their models.

“It’s imperative for manufacturers to address this issue in order to improve the level of consumer trust in the technology.”

It’s worth noting, that as the 2018 models aren’t in the study, we don’t have a complete take on the current vehicle reliability situation and of improvements that manufacturers may have since made.

Will you switch brands?

Overall, the study gives motorists a good idea of the car brands that are most reliable and those who aren’t doing so well. Comparing results from the 2017 VDS also highlights which car manufacturers are improving and who hasn’t had a good year for complaints.

Take Romanian manufacturer, Dacia, for example. In 2017, they ranked 21st overall, with 151 (PP100). In the 2018 VDS, they’re in sixth place, scoring an impressive 105 (PP100). On the other end of the scale, the Swedish manufacturer, Volvo has fallen from an amazing joint first place, in 2017, with a score of 83 (PP100) to now having a score of 138 in 2018 and placing 17th, overall.

BMW, despite seeing a slight improvement in the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles in the past 12 months, have remained at an unimpressive last place for vehicle reliability.

The results of the study are, perhaps, most useful to those motorists who buy cars less than three years old, but whether we buy new or older cars, many drivers will have both their favourite brands and those they avoid.

Car brands develop stereotyped identities and we don’t always choose a certain brand after examining accurate and current information, but get swayed by a mixture of experience with a model of car and information—correct or not—we pick up along the way.

Do the results of the study match up to how you feel about certain brands of cars? What information do you use when deciding which vehicle to buy or lease? Are you an owner of a premium car with in-vehicle technology problems? Tell us in the comments.

Another day, another report on how the UK Government are ‘leading the charge’ on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure. It has been suggested that this new strategy from the Government will be the most significant technological advancement since the creation of the internal combustion engine, which is most certainly a bold claim.

We reported back in May that the infrastructure isn’t in place to cope with demand, and while it’s true that updates to the Road to Zero strategy have included infrastructure, they’ve mainly focused on charging points and charging technology.

However, with the Government targeting at least 50% of all new car sales to be Ultra Low Emission (ULE) by 2030, how will they manage that? Currently, the number of cars registered for road use is around 30 million.

The Road to Zero

The UK will be hosting the first ever Zero Emission Vehicle summit later this year in Birmingham. In attendance will be policy makers, industry experts, academia and financial institutions with the goal of providing a platform for the experts and senior government officials from around the world to meet, discuss and produce strategies for the future of zero-emission vehicles, placing the UK at the forefront.

Is it possible that this latest news has been influenced by the need to show the UK’s credentials in the fight against pollution against the court case that the EU brought against the UK earlier this year? The EU took the UK and five other major polluters to the European Court of Justice in May after they failed to meet both the 2005 and 2010 EU directives.

The government has already committed to investing around £1.5 billion in Ultra Low Emission vehicles by 2020, and the infrastructure to support them, but with just one charging spot for every nine vehicles currently, how far will that money go? With around 150,000 ULE vehicles using the road network currently, what happens when we get to 5 million? Not forgetting that the Government are looking toward the 15 million mark by 2030.

Future plans

This latest report revealed that discussions are taking place regarding the infrastructure and how we can fully optimise the situation. Some of the proposals included:

• Have charging points included in all new house builds
• New lampposts built to incorporate charging points
• The launch of new £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund
• Creation of a £40m programme to develop wireless and on-street charging tech
• A scheme for business with electric vehicle owners to claim up to £500 for the installation of a charging point

In theory, this sounds like an excellent way forward, but there are two details not yet mentioned; the proposals are ideas, not planned actions with a set start date, and a potentially more significant problem – the supply network.

Supply network problems

The increase in demand for electricity in 2030 due to electric cars could reach as high as 8GW; this is an additional figure to the current peak of 60GW. To put that in perspective, the new Hinckley Point nuclear power station will provide a further 3.2GW to the national grid. Reports say that at present, as few as six cars charging could lead to a localised power outage at peak times, and Energy UK have said that being able to cut the power off at times of peak load and demand is preferable than investing in new cables across the country. There are also suggestions of tariffs for peak charging times, which are first thing in the morning and late evening.

Energy analysts have predicted that with just 33% of new car sales being a fully electric vehicle in 2035, they would account for around 3% of the total energy demand and that there would be a need for an additional 400,000 charging points at the cost of £30bn. The government are targeting a minimum of 50% of areas having charging points, but have said they’d like to get that as high as 70%, and that’s at current levels of charge/output – what happens as the battery technology develops to greater levels of power, therefore requiring more electricity?

All electric

Even for die-hard internal combustion fans, the prospect of electric vehicles is now a genuine and viable alternative – performance levels are similar to their counterparts, the range is usable in the real world. Experts predict that when battery prices fall to £95 – £120 per kWh (currently around £145), prices should be comparable to a traditionally powered vehicle; when mass production started in about 2010, that figure was closer to £750 per kWh.

Perhaps the only thing that’s keeping everyone from rushing out and buying one is the charging situation – many of us don’t have off-street parking, and public charging stations can be an inconvenience, and while that’s the case, the Government don’t need to worry too much about the generation of power. Hence the statements made ahead of the Zero Emission Vehicle summit – giving details of potential solutions to problems that don’t yet exist rather than finding solutions to the very real problem of power generation.

BP believes electric is the way forward, and recently bought Chargemaster, the UK’s biggest charging network to help invest in the future. This echoes a move by Shell last year when they purchased Chargemaster rival NewMotion. With big oil going electric, the government introducing such schemes seems a bit late.

What do you think of the Road to Zero strategy? Should the Government place more emphasis on creating solutions for power generation? More to the point – is this latest ‘report’ hype ahead of the summit? Let us know in the comments.

A study by Privilege Car Insurance has revealed the most expensive places to drive in Britain. While we’re aware property prices vary across Britain, it might come as a shock to discover there’s often a huge discrepancy between where you live and what car ownership is costing you.

Most expensive cities to be a car owner

The most expensive place to own a car is Liverpool, costing motorists an average of £4,009.89 each year for the privilege of driving. Contrast that to Brighton car owners who pay, on average, £2,028.26 per year on their driving costs—around half what Liverpudlians pay.

London drivers have the highest parking costs, paying an average of £246.00 each year—around 80% more than Nottingham drivers. With the most paid in parking, MOT tests, and parking fines, together with an average yearly bill of £22.53 in toll roads and congestion charges, it’s no wonder London is the second most expensive city to own a car.

Car repairs bills are a headache. What worse, though, is what you pay may depend on where you live. Motorists in Southampton pay the largest car repair bills, with an average annual bill of £178.29—a big difference to most Norwich drivers, who pay less than £100 each year to have their vehicles fixed.

Most Expensive Cities to Drive In – Ranked by Average Annual Cost

1. Liverpool: £4,009.89
2. London: £3,862.61
3. Manchester: £3,517.41
4. Birmingham: £3,424.06
5. Newcastle: £3,223.09
6. Edinburgh: £3,194.76
7. Cardiff: £3,113.19
8. Leeds: £3,088.30
9. Southampton: £2,752.60
10. Glasgow: £2,750.80
11. Sheffield: £2,710.86
12. Nottingham: £2,578.99
13. Bristol: £2,424.95
14. Plymouth: £2,395.80
15. Norwich: £2,060.78
16. Brighton: £2,028.26

Plymouth motorists pay the most in car tax, paying an average of £124.12 per year, compared to the average, yearly car tax bill of £77.46, in Cardiff.

With the risk of accidents greater in built-up areas, living in a city will often result in higher insurance costs. Liverpool drivers pay the most, with an average insurance bill of £2,072.37—double the yearly cost of £1,030.76 for the average UK driver.

Edinburgh drivers pay the most for petrol and diesel, shelling out an average of £997.78 each year—a lot more than Bristolians, who say they spend around £708.93 each year, at the pumps. The huge variation in petrol and diesel prices is something PetrolPrices.com have covered in previous articles.

Manchester made the number one place for the highest percentage of speeding fines in the last year and ranked as the third most expensive city to be a motorist.

Drivers cost-conscious when choosing car insurance

Along with finance and fuel, car insurance is in the top three most expensive motoring costs. Depending on where you live, it could be the biggest driving expense you face. The Privilege Car Insurance survey found that Liverpool was the most expensive city for car insurance, with drivers paying, on average, a huge £2,072.37 per year—almost 75% more than in Norwich, where drivers pay an average bill of £513.02 each year on car insurance premiums.

Charlotte Fielding, Head of Privilege car insurance said: “We know that motoring can put a real squeeze on household finances, so we wanted to take a closer look at the average costs in order to help drivers see where they might be able to make savings.

Fielding added: “The cost of car insurance was recently at an all-time high and while prices are now falling for the first time in two years, people are still rightly cost-conscious when purchasing their cover. However, it’s important to look at not just the price but the cover and service on offer. Cheap policies with hollow cover or that add to your stress levels when it comes to making a claim don’t represent value for money. It’s worth investing time upfront doing some research before buying car insurance.

Reducing some of those costs

Should you find yourself landed with a parking fine, pay up fast. Sometimes the fine drops by 50% if you pay up within 14 days, instead of leaving it for the usual 28 days to pay. And if someone has issued you an unjustified parking fine? MoneySavingExpert says 56% of motorists who pursued their complaints right through to the official appeals body, were successful with their claims. To reduce parking costs, consider a parking app that checks the price of nearby parking, such as Parkopedia, and see which parking companies offer apps to both tell you when your parking time is almost up and allow you to pay online—great if you’re running late!

If your car repairs need replacement parts, look into buying them yourself, online, instead of letting the garage buy them. As long as you buy the correct parts, you can save hundreds of pounds.

If you want to cut down on the price you pay for petrol or diesel, and haven’t already, download the PetrolPrices.com app and start saving, today.

Are you surprised by the cost differences between cities? Do you live in or near these areas? How does the cost of driving compare where you are? Why do you think prices vary so much across Britain? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

In January of this year, the UK Government was issued a ‘final warning’ from the European Commission about the poor levels of air quality – it was found that there were repeated breaches of the limits in 16 different areas, with Birmingham and Leeds consistently among the worst areas. The fines for such breaches could total in the region of £60 million.

As a response to that, there are plans for two new congestion charging schemes to come into force on the 1st January 2020, which could see some vehicles paying as much as £100 per day to enter the city centres.

Clean air zones

Both Birmingham and Leeds city councils are looking to introduce schemes similar to London’s ULEZ (Ultra-Low Emission Zones) in a bid to tackling the ‘crisis-level’ air pollution found in the cities. Only vehicles that meet Euro 4 for unleaded (generally manufactured after 2006) or Euro 6 for diesel (2015 onwards) would be exempt from the charge, although it’s thought that Leeds will only target the commercial vehicles such as taxis, buses and HGVs, whereas Birmingham will look to the private motorist also.

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council stated that the charge wasn’t about making money, that all surplus would go back into the city’s transport budget, and that this was purely as a measure to tackling city-wide pollution levels. The charge will cover every single road within the city centre, aside from the A4540 middle ring road; a perfect way to create a congestion zone.

Birmingham council’s own analysis into air quality found that the high pollution levels were responsible for shortening the lives of at least 900 residents.

A different route for Leeds

Leeds City Council will also be introducing a congestion charge, but amidst the plans, they have also stated that their end goal is to make the air breathable (rather than financial gain), so they’ll be looking to support businesses running HGVs or coaches with grants of up to £19,000 to retrofit emission reducing tech, equally, taxi drivers will be eligible for funding of up to £3,000 to help them swap over to electric or hybrid power.

Further still, the initial plan to charge £100 per day for the most polluting vehicles has been halved to just £50, and the restricted zone has also been reduced – this seems a genuine plan to try and address the issue of air quality, rather than penalise the motorist – they won’t be charging private motorists to enter the city.

There’s also talk of alternative measures such as ‘no idling’ zones outside schools and having car-free days within the city centre.

The bigger picture

Whilst the plans still need to be approved by Parliament, you’d say it was a rather safe bet that this will be happening on the proposed date in January 2020, and the question is – will this be extended to other areas?

Birmingham council runs under the West Midlands Combined Authority, which also controls Coventry, surely the next step is to roll the plan out to the extended reaches of the authority? Just as London is widening their ULEZ zone for 2021, taking in all of inner London, Birmingham will look to incorporate the surrounding cities as part of the ‘tackling pollution’ strategy.

Coventry City Council are under heavy criticism for the treatment of motorists as it is, with official bodies such as the Traffic Penalty Tribunal branding them “delusional, reminiscent of King Canute” in respect to parking restrictions, which have earned the council over £1.5 million. Will this be the Golden Egg for the council?

What about you?

Although still over a year away, the plans to introduce a congestion charging zone, Clean Air Zone, ULEZ, T-Charge or any other form of penalty to the motorist will have a very real effect on many of us. A great deal of families already monitor their spending closely as a result of increasing fuel costs, and paying a further £10 per day to enter a city centre isn’t going to make things easier.

Naturally, being in a city centre means there are good public transport links, but that’s still further cost, and if the taxi/bus/coach companies are adding an extra £100/day to their overhead, that cost will simply be passed on to the consumer, or it will force the taxi drivers out of town.

Adding a congestion charge to enter a city will simply push consumer prices upwards – imagine a small logistics company that has just ten HGVs delivering to a city centre, that’s £1,000/day or £365,000 per year increase in overhead – this is no longer just about the motorist, this is the UKs economy.

Can you think of better ways to reduce air pollution? Will a £10 charge prohibit you from entering a city centre? What sort of effect do you think this will have on the consumer economy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Not only do potholes cause damage to our vehicles, but they can, and do, cause accidents, either from drivers hitting the potholes themselves or swerving to avoid them.

A Sunday Mirror investigation has now revealed the 10 worst places in Britain for potholes and they say road quality is better in Chile, Oman and Peru after freezing weather at the end of February resulted in even further damage to our roads.

Most affected roads in England

Mellor Brook Bypass, in Balderstone, Lancashire topped the list as the worst offender, with 545 pothole complaints made. The second most affected road, bringing in 216 complaints, was Seven Hills Road, in Elmbridge, Surrey, and the A345 in Wiltshire took third place for the number of reports made for potholes, with 208 complaints.

Top 10 worst roads for potholes

1. Mellor Brook Bypass, Balderstone, Lancashire – 545 complaints
2. Seven Hills Road, Elmbridge, Surrey – 216 complaints
3. A345 in Wiltshire – 208 complaints
4. Selsfield Road, West Hoathly, West Sussex – 200 complaints
5. Main Road, Moulton, Cheshire – 185 complaints
6. A595 in Cumbria – 171 complaints
7. Attercliffe Road in Sheffield – 169 complaints
8. A38 Kingsbury Road in Birmingham – 169 complaints
9. Richmord Avenue, Telford, Shropshire – 168 complaints
10. The road from West Serstone to Down St Mary in Devon – 162 complaints

Before the Sunday Mail’s research, Asphalt Industry Alliance said 24,500 miles of local roads will shut for repairs in the next year – and it will take at least 14 years to get rid of the backlog, costing £9.3billion.

The Government had planned to spend £296m from the Pothole Action Fund between 2016 and 2021 — enough to cover repairs for around six million potholes — but after the harsh winter weather earlier this year; the government increased it by £100m.

A national disgrace

In the first four months of 2018, The Automobile Association (AA) received more insurance claims due to potholes than in the whole of 2017 and say they’re rescuing record numbers of drivers whose tyres or wheels get damaged by potholes.

Janet Connor, Director of Insurance for the AA, said: “This year we are seeing a growing number of pothole claims described as: ‘car severely damaged and un-driveable’ which didn’t happen at all last year.

“Even the Secretary of State for Transport, who in March announced £100million funding to be sunk into road repairs, admitted we haven’t spent enough on the country’s roads since the 1980s.

“That fund is welcome but no-where near enough. The pothole epidemic has become nothing short of a national disgrace.”

According to the AA, average repair bills are £1,000, adding up to £4.2million, from drivers damaging their bodywork, axles, steering, suspension, tyres, and underbodies, with motorists losing control and having collisions.

They say typical pothole damage involves one or two tyres and sometimes a wheel rim and the damage doesn’t justify drivers having to pay the excess on a policy and lose their no-claims bonus or risk a price increase upon renewal. Due to this, most drivers cover the costs themselves and don’t make a claim.

Councillor Martin Tett, of the Local Government ­Association (LGA), said: “Only long-term, consistent and fairer investment in local roads can let councils embark on the improvements so desperately needed.”

He said the LGA has asked the Government to reinvest two pence per litre of existing fuel duty, to generate £1billion a year for councils to use for repairing local roads and to fill potholes.

Drivers aren’t the only victims of potholes. The Department for Transport figures show, between 2007 and 2016, 22 cyclists dying and 368 receiving serious injuries, due to accidents involving defective road surfaces.

Action after hitting a pothole

You must decide for yourself whether to put in a claim to your council for pothole damage. In the short-term, it puts councils under financial pressure and uses the taxpayers’ money, but if the public doesn’t make claims, roads may not get repaired when they should.

One member of the public hit the headlines this month after he contacted a council chief about damages he incurred from hitting a pothole.

Claimant, Jonathan Symms, received a response to his email to Sir Richard Leese explaining that due to the council making compensation payments for pothole damage, it was taking away resources they could spend on vital road repairs.

Sir Richard said, in an email to Mr Symms that, “The idea that councils have to take responsibility for every bit of people’s activity can’t be right – or the fact council services, including the limited money we have to repair roads, should be put at risk.”

If a member of the public makes a report of a pothole or the council discover one during road inspections and you hit the pothole before it’s repaired, you’re within your rights to seek compensation but, according to Government guidelines introduced in October 2016, potholes 40mm or below don’t qualify.

If your vehicle had a pre-existing problem, and the pothole made this worse, you can still claim but you won’t get the full repair costs back.

Local authorities aren’t liable to pay out on claims if they weren’t aware of the pothole beforehand, i.e., nobody had reported it to them and road inspections missed it. By law, councils have to carry out road inspections and repairs. So, if your claim gets rejected you can ask to see details of the council’s road inspection reports and try for a reclaim.

If you hit a pothole, pull over as soon as it’s safe and check for any damage to your wheels and tyres and, if safe to do so, take notes of the whereabouts of the pothole and photographs, too — include something in the photo to show scale, such as your foot. If you have witnesses, try to collect their contact details.

Even if you don’t spot immediate damage, listen for vibrations and watch for your steering wheel not centring, or the car pulling to one side. If any of these things occur, have your vehicle checked by a garage as soon as possible and ask your mechanic to put any findings in writing. Don’t ignore tracking or steering damage as both can be dangerous and expensive.

Get several quotes for repair work and keep every quote, invoice, and receipt if you’re intending to make a claim. Even if you’re not intending to make a claim, report the pothole to your council. Contact Highways England about potholes on motorways and A roads.

What condition are the roads where you live? Have you encountered damage to your vehicle because of a pothole? Did you make a claim to your council? Do you think the public should make claims for pothole damage? Let us know in the comments.