- Ford Mondeo is Britain’s most-used car
- Nissan Micra is most underutilised vehicle
- Unique vehicle usage study
The average Ford Mondeo covers more distance on UK roads than any other vehicle, racking up over 15,000 miles annually, nearly 600 more than the next most-used car, the Volvo S80.
Larger, more refined vehicles dominate Warranty Direct’s rundown of the nation’s top 10 mile-munchers according to analysis of its 50,000 live policies on 3-10 year old cars. The report reveals the nation’s lust for luxury during long journeys and provides a unique insight into vehicle usage.
Volkswagen’s Passat and the Audi A6 – two more large vehicles – both also cover in excess of 14,000 miles on average, still well above the rule-of-thumb average of 12,000 miles.
The statistics show that even covering over 15,000 miles annually, the Mondeo’s reliability isn’t diminished, only 15% require a warranty claim each year as opposed to the Passat which has a 44% chance of acquiring a fault.
Top 10 most-used cars in UK (all cars 3 plus years old)
| Make | Model | Ave Annual Mileage | Incident/Claim Rate | Largest Claim | Sector | |
| 1 | Ford | Mondeo | 15,101 | 15% | £879.28 | Family |
| 2 | Volvo | S80 | 14,570 | 19% | £731.90 | Executive |
| 3 | Volkswagen | Passat | 14,440 | 44% | £2,224.09 | Family |
| 4 | Audi | A6 | 14,336 | 36% | £5,375.63 | Executive |
| 5 | BMW | 5 Series | 13,242 | 32% | £3,002.94 | Executive |
| 6 | Ford | S-Max | 12,880 | 20% | £3,064.72 | MPV |
| 7 | Chrysler | 300C | 12,853 | 44% | £810.00 | Executive |
| 8 | Volvo | XC70 | 12,848 | 41% | £1,488.40 | SUV |
| 9 | Audi | A6 Allroad | 12,548 | 41% | £3,406.21 | SUV |
| 10 | Nissan | Pathfinder | 12,546 | 41% | £3,277.50 | SUV |
Conversely, small cars cover significantly less miles, with the Nissan Micra taking the title of Britain’s least-used car. Micra owners rack up just 5,580 miles per year on average. In fact, superminis constitute nine of the 10 least-used cars in Britain.
Unsurprisingly, the least-used cars require less maintenance, with a collective average breakdown rate of 21% in contrast to the most-used cars, 34% of which need fixing by Warranty Direct each year – The overall average including all cars is 39%.
Top 10 least-used cars in UK (all cars 3 plus years old)
| Make | Model | Ave Annual Mileage | Incident/Claim Rate | Largest Claim | Sector | |
| 1 | Nissan | Micra | 5,580 | 18% | £638.45 | Supermini |
| 2 | Fiat | Seicento | 6,026 | 37% | £207.71 | Supermini |
| 3 | Suzuki | Wagon R+ | 6,037 | 13% | £727.69 | Supermini |
| 4 | Ford | Ka | 6,275 | 23% | £297.37 | Supermini |
| 5 | Suzuki | Alto | 6,281 | 10% | £279.43 | Supermini |
| 6 | MG | TF | 6,318 | 42% | £2,693.32 | Open-Top |
| 7 | Kia | Picanto | 6,504 | 8% | £246.64 | Supermini |
| 8 | Daewoo | Matiz | 6,511 | 18% | £427.93 | Supermini |
| 9 | Volkswagen | Lupo | 6,543 | 22% | £486.75 | Supermini |
| 10 | Mazda | 2 | 6,576 | 20% | £1,075.24 | Supermini |
Warranty Direct managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher, said: “The Mondeo’s always been a favourite with company car drivers, and it appears they rarely stay idle for long. Despite this, they are reliable too.
“It goes to show that when buying used, the rule-of-thumb average mileage of 12,000 isn’t really applicable, for example a four-year old Micra’s average mileage will be little over 20k miles whereas a Mondeo’s will be more like 60k miles.”
“The average 10 year old Mondeo will have travelled equivalent to nearly six times around the globe.”
