Best used car of the decade named and it’s not a Ford, BMW or Audi

A survey has asked members of the public what they think the best used car of the past ten years has been and they came up with an interesting result

The used car market has never been popular, with the cost of living pushing people away from splashing big on brand new vehicles, instead turning to the better value used equivalent.

But what’s the best one to buy? A new survey has now come to a conclusion, having asked 1,000 members of the public.

CarGurus, marking ten years in the UK, say the Volkswagen Golf is the best used car of the last decade. The car, which was first released in the 1970s, was one of the pioneering hatchbacks in the country.

What makes the result even more interesting is that the Golf is not an SUV. Despite the ballooning popularity of the body style, especially since the introduction of the Nissan Qashqai in 2006, the hatchback has remained popular.

Whilst SUVs completed the podium with the BMW X3 and Audi Q3 SUVs in second and third, hatchbacks came fourth and fifth with the Audi A3 and Vauxhall Astra completing the quintet.

In fact, 28% of respondents chose the hatchback as their favourite body style compared to 21 percent for medium SUVs and 15 percent for small SUVs.

In a statement following the results, editorial director of CarGurus UK Chris Knapman remarked: “Over the past decade, the Volkswagen Golf has consistently proven itself to be one of the nation’s favourites.

“It represents the perfect mix of reliability, practicality, design and affordability, and shows that the long-standing popular models continue to be exactly that.”

However, not everyone might agree with the survey’s verdict. Back in February, motoring specialist and CEO of car.co.uk William Fletcher suggested an alternative contender in the form of the Toyota’s city car, the Yaris, itself also a hatchback, albeit a small one.

Speaking to us, he explained why a car of which hundreds of thousands have been sold in the UK since 199, was his pick.

He said: “The humble Toyota Yaris, the 58th most popular car model in the UK, is one of the most reliable cars on British roads, with thousands of owners reporting zero faults in a given year.

“Backed by Toyota’s reputation for durability, the Yaris benefits from simple, well-proven engineering and is highly dependable.

“Repair costs are typically low, it sits in modest insurance groups, and Toyota’s warranty can extend up to 10 years when serviced within the network – making it one of the safest bets for hassle-free, affordable motoring.”