Mercedes tops poll of most comfortable cars

Driving the wrong car can literally be a pain in the neck, according to the findings of a major motoring study.A new guide for drivers has revealed that getting behind the wheel could be a joy or nightmare, depending on the model of choice.

Thousands of motorists polled as part of Which? magazine’s annual car survey chose a Mercedes S-Class as the nation’s most comfortable car – handing it a score of 98 per cent.

The Vauxhall Corsa and the Citroen Saxo were rated the least comfortable, struggling home with scores of 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

The consumer magazine said: “Back pain, sore backside, and stiff neck. These are just a few symptoms of not being comfortable behind the wheel.

“Buy a car that doesn’t suit your frame or personal preferences, and you’re in for a very bumpy ride.

“We test driving position and ride comfort for every car that passes through the doors of our test lab. But nothing quite beats the experience of living with a car, day in, day out.

“And that’s why we asked car owners to rate every aspect of their car for our survey.”

The Citroen C3 came up trumps among small cars with a 75 per cent rating, while rivals for the Mercedes S-Class in the comfort stakes were other luxury cars such as the Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ, which scored 93 and 92 per cent respectively.

The Lexus IS and the Skoda Superb were rated the most comfortable in the “large car” category.

The survey looked at 63,000 vehicles which covered a total of 520 million miles in the 12 months prior to the poll being carried out.

Among the key findings were that the average annual mileage for motorists was 8,169. Honda was rated the most reliable brand, with an average score of 84 per cent.

The magazine, which was due to publish the results of its comfort survey today, added: “What is clear is that you have to limit your expectations to the type of car you’re buying. It’s perhaps no surprise that premium brands fare so well in the comfort stakes.

“The score for the Mercedes S-Class made it not only the most comfortable luxury car but the most comfortable car of the year, according to our survey. Owners raved about its plush interior and clever automatic features.

“In our class-by-class league table, Lexus, Mercedes and Volvo each appear three times among the top scorers.

“But there’s bad news for Vauxhall – it has eight cars at the wrong end of the comfort charts, with various incarnations of the Astra and Vectra being rated especially poorly.

The cramped Citroen Saxo is the least comfy car overall, with a score of 39 per cent.”