The Carwow Group has transformed its annual Driver Power survey into a platform capable of providing OEMs and dealers with new first-party data insights that can be used to shape product planning and marketing strategies.
The 2025 Driver Power results is the first since Auto Express became part of the Carwow Group and was launched in a special edition of the magazine today. The survey drew on a dataset of 91,000 responses — with the Mercedes GLE topping the list this year. The GLE outperformed its competitors in a number of categories, including safety attributes, driving pleasure, climate, audio and sat-nav function, and overall quality.
The popularity of the Mercedes GLE in the Driver Power survey, aligns with trends seen on the Carwow platform. Carwow has experienced a 54% increase in enquiries from consumers for the Mercedes GLE in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Vauxhall has the most entries in the top 10, placing second (Grandland), third (Astra), and sixth (Crossland). The Grandland took second place in five categories with the Astra achieving six category ‘top fives’. Vauxhall marques have also seen an uplift in enquiry volumes across Carwow, showing a huge uplift of 237% for the Crossland, with the Grandland and Astra enquiries up 45% and 10% respectively compared to last year.
Rounding off the top five cars is the Ford Kuga, which, thanks to high scores for safety, practicality, and its interior, has risen six places compared to last year, followed by another Mercedes, the C-Class, thanks to high scores for infotainment and value for money. Completing the top 10 are two entries from BMW, the 2 Series coupe and the 4 Series, alongside the Citroen C5 Aircross and the Dacia Duster. The popularity of these vehicles is also reflected in Carwow enquiry volumes, with a 5% increase for the BMW 2 Series coupe and an impressive 119% increase for the Duster year-on-year.
Sarah Blewett, Head of User Research at Carwow Group, said: “The top 10 cars aren’t just winning on paper, they’re winning in real life. The latest Driver Power survey gives OEMs and dealers powerful insight into which models create the most positive impression among owners. Coupled with Carwow data, we know that dealers stocking and promoting these vehicles can build trust, conversions and long-term loyalty.”
New Driver Power
Now, as part of the Carwow Group, Driver Power is one of the largest consumer satisfaction surveys of car owners in the UK. Its audience has expanded to include those for Auto Express, evo, Carbuyer, Driving Electric and Carwow. 91,000 car owners have been asked about their car’s reliability, interior space, safety features, value-for-money, and driving experience to compile the independent report.
Blewett continued: “Customers crave confidence in their car-buying decisions, and OEMs need to know which criteria are most important for driving purchase intent. The new format of Driver Power will provide a depth and breadth of first-party customer data that the industry has not historically been able to access via a single source.
“This unrivalled level of insight will help empower OEMs to refine products and strategies to meet customer needs and carve out space in a complex and crowded marketplace.”