Quality, performance and style are more important to owners than value for money according to the latest Auto Express Driver Power car brands survey.

Hot on the heels of Driver Power's rankings for individual models, Porsche beat Tesla and Kia to scoop top spot in the annual rankings, with owners celebrating the pleasure of immaculate styling and finish, driving pleasure, details such as sat-nav and infotainment systems and even practicality and boot space in larger models.

More than 60,000 owners rated their cars in the Driver Power survey across a range of features, with value for money taking a back seat to most other qualities enjoyed by drivers.

Auto Express said the theme of interior comfort and driving pleasure over value is maintained by Tesla reaching the number two slot, despite 44% of owners reporting faults and admitting that they are underwhelmed by their cars' styling.

Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express, said: "There is a lot to celebrate for European marques in our brand level survey after Far Eastern brands recently stole the show for individual model ratings, proving that the car market in Britain is truly global.

"The results show that driving pleasure and overall usability still beats saving a few pounds when it comes to living with a car, despite an increase in the cost of living.

“It's also fascinating to see that there seems to be no correlation between even a relatively high proportion of minor issues and ownership satisfaction. It appears that many owners don't let faults spoil their enjoyment."

Auto Express Driver Power Brands survey 2022 winners

1. Porsche
2. Tesla
3. Kia
4. Peugeot
5. Honda
6. Jaguar
7. Mazda
8. Volvo
9. MINI
10. Toyota

Auto Express said that Kia achieves top 10 scores across the board and praised the maker for "creating a range of mainstream products that owners find almost as satisfying as aficionados of luxury enthusiast brands".

The AM Awards 2022's Manufacturer of the Year's crossover gained the best feedback in responses from around 60,000 motorists to lead a top 10 field in which the Tesla Model 3, Skoda Kodiaq and Seat Ateca were the only products not delivered by Asian brands.