Mercedes-Benz has been named best car brand to own in the 2026 Driver Power rankings, Carwow Group’s flagship annual research study which pulls data from over 100,000 drivers.
Having ranked second last year, Mercedes-Benz has now topped the overall list for ‘best brand’, posting the best scores in six out of the 10 categories, including driving enjoyment, interior design and driving smoothness.
Sarah Perks, VP of content and publishing at Carwow Group, said: “Driver Power analysis provides a holistic view of consumer preferences and buying behaviours, helping our dealer partners make timely and informed decisions about stocking and marketing strategy
“In the manufacturer rankings – arguably the most meaningful measure of overall ownership satisfaction – Mercedes-Benz took the overall win, but the bigger story is how strongly premium brands performed across the board. Nine of the top 10 manufacturers could be considered mainstream-premium or premium brands.
“Of course, a higher list price doesn’t automatically guarantee a great ownership experience, but our data suggests buyers who spend more tend to be more satisfied with the cars they end up driving.
“Alfa Romeo, a new entrant to the top 10, came second, impressing owners with steering responsiveness and road handling. However, the marque lost out on votes for economy and running costs, as well as build quality and reliability.
Tesla was voted into third place, coming top for powertrain and smoothness, and runner-up in the infotainment, acceleration and safety features categories. Its main pitfall was identified as “simplistic exterior design”.
The Tesla Model 3 was crowned overall winner of the individual ‘best car to own’.
Lexus, which consistently performs well in Driver Power surveys, placed fourth in the ‘best brand’ list, ranking second in the interior and the practicality and boot space categories.
It received low rankings for powertrain, steering and road handling.
Completing the top five was BMW, rising from eighth place last year, because of high scores for infotainment and powertrain.
However, the marque was limited by lower scores for running costs.
