Ford loses its Focus as motorists vote leaky convertible the UK's worst car

The Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet slipped to the bottom of the annual awards table after owners complained about a leaky roof, said What Car? magazine.

Although the makers appear to have solved the problem, it affected half the model's owners who took part in the voting. The Focus has been the fourth best-selling car so far this year.

Second worst was the Peugeot 807 people carrier, while in third place was the Vauxhall Zafira. Another Vauxhall, the Insignia, also featured in the bottom ten.

The best car in Britain was the BMW 1 Series Coupe, which got the thumbs up from every single owner surveyed for the annual awards. It also topped the best coupe section.

The Land Rover Defender was placed second and the Alfa Romeo Mito third.

Overall, Skoda was named best manufacturer, followed by Porsche and Daihatsu, then Alfa Romeo, Hyundai, Jaguar, Seat, Jeep, Mitsubishi and BMW.

Swedish car maker Saab was rated as the worst carmaker by the survey, followed by Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Chevrolet, Toyota, Ford, Lexus, Land Rover and Renault.

While the Volkswagen Passat convertible won awards for being the best compact executive car, the standard hard-top Passat was ranked among the ten worst in the country.

Each car was rated across a range of categories from comfort to overall performance to value for money, with a total score out of five.

The Ford Focus CC managed a measly 2.3, although the magazine said the signs were that the company was finally fixing the problem of its leaky roof.

What Car? editor Steve Fowler said: "The results suggest that no-one ever regrets buying a 1 Series Coup, with the vast majority of readers dishing out a full five-star verdict.

"The entry-level BMW was complimented for its driving ability as well as its fuel consumption.It's a worthy winner.

"The Ford Focus CC was ranked as the worst car overall, with the biggest number of complaints stemming from problems with leaky roofs.

"Over half of the readers involved in the research gave their Ford Focus CC only a one-star rating.

"However, more recent favourable reviews suggest that Ford may have got to the bottom of the leaky roof problem."

Among the cars to be named as best in their class were the Alfa Romeo Mito in the supermini category, which was followed by the Fiat 500, Fiat Panda and Daihatsu Sirion.

The Skoda Octavia topped the family car section and Lotus Elise was best convertible.

Ford managed one top award, for its C-Max model among MPV owners, while the Mercedes CLS was top luxury car and the British-built Mini Clubman the best estate.

The Land Rover Defender was named best 4x4.

More than 170 of the most popular models were covered by the awards.

Mr Fowler said the What Car? Reader Awards comprise the opinions of 30,000 drivers who have experience of what the cars are like to own and live with.

He said: "Our annual What Car? Reader Awards provide invaluable information for anyone choosing a new car."