The Czech Republic produces the best cars, according to a detailed study of car brands conducted by The Car Expert.*

The analysis, conducted by the UK’s most comprehensive automotive consumer advice site, The Car Expert, ranked countries from best to worst based on the cars and car brands that were originally created there.

The new study utilises The Car Expert’s unique, data-driven Expert Ranking Index and takes into account all cars currently available in the UK. The Expert Rating Index uses algorithms to accurately consolidate car reviews from 30 of the UK’s top automotive websites into a simple, easy to understand percentage score.

The Czech Republic, which scored an impressive 76% average in the data-driven rankings** – thanks to the high scoring all-rounder Škoda – was followed by Sweden in second place (74%).

Traditionally seen by many as among the best car-producing countries globally, automotive giant Germany came in third place. Despite its high-ranking, premium brands such as Porsche (82%), BMW (73%) and Audi (73%), Germany was impacted by a number of lower-performing models.

Most notably, Smart affected Germany’s score as the lowest performer of all brands within the analysis, resulting in a score of 43%, which is significantly below that of Japanese brand Subaru (51%) which was second from bottom.

Britain, known for creating some of the most upmarket vehicles in the world, came in fifth according to the Expert Rating Index. It is also home to the two most highly-rated cars on sale, the McLaren 765 LT and Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Brands such as Bentley, Land Rover and Jaguar bolstered Britain’s overall score, with journalists rating models such as the Continental GT, Defender and I-Pace particularly well. Vauxhall scored 62%, while MG averaged 53%, with two of its models, the MG 3 and ZS, among the bottom five cars after being critiqued for their Euro NCAP safety ratings.

The comprehensive research placed France at the foot of the leaderboard. DS Automobiles had low scores across all five models, averaging 57%, while Renault and Citroën were also towards the bottom of the rankings, mostly scoring average Expert Ratings across their ranges. However, both brands had a few notable stand-out models such as the Renault Clio and Citroën C5 Aircross.

In contrast to this, French brand Alpine topped the charts with a score of 88%, landing the company the title of best overall brand. However, this score was made possible by Alpine currently only having a single model on sale in the UK, the well regarded A110 sports car.

With just one brand of Czech origin on sale in the UK, Škoda’s entire range performed well under the critical eye of motoring journalists. The Enyaq iV was the best performing vehicle in its range , while the Škoda Scala, its lowest performing car, still earned a satisfactory score within its class.

Stuart Masson, Editorial Director at The Car Expert, said: “Many will be surprised to find that Germany has not topped the charts, but also that the title belongs to the Czech Republic. Škoda has made huge strides over the years and has seen its line-up praised consistently in the eyes of automotive journalists and consumers alike. Overall, Škoda’s value for money and ability to deliver cars that outperform many more expensive models was the recurring praise of journalists’ reviews across the brand.

“Our Expert Rating Index is unique, drawing on a vast number of reviews from respected automotive titles and using our proprietary algorithm to assimilate this data into a percentage rating – it is effectively a meta-analysis for vehicles.”

He continued, “For a country that has a strong presence within the UK market, the Expert Ratings for French brands were surprisingly low. However, it was pleasing to see two British models coming out on top, proving that the UK knows how to design first-class vehicles.”