The UK’s ten most reliable cars

Fresh, unexpected news: seven of the UK's ten most reliable and satisfying cars to own are...[drumroll] German.

That's right, in a surprise twist, it turns out cars made by a gaggle of little-known auto manufacturers based in Deutschland have swarmed the 2014 JD Power/What Car survey on vehicle ownership.

Yesterday, we showed you the cars that made the bottom of the reliability list, including the Citroen C3, Chevy Spark, and Smart ForTwo.

But today we celebrate the most reliable, according to JD Power's complicated algorithm calculating quality, ownership costs, dealer experience and other such serious metrics. So here, ladies and gentlemen, are your most trustworthy cars to own.

The only Brit to make the list, the Jaguar XF sticks two gentlemanly fingers up to the pesky BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Also comes with a 5.0-litre V8, which does something a bit ruder.

A big, square lump of a car that's everything a Volvo should be - safe, reliable and a solid bit of engineering. Come the apocalypse, this is what the families of mutant cockroaches will be trundling round in.

A Golf with a faint Czech accent. Eminently worthy, utterly classless and just a tiny bit boring. Also the correct answer to most 'should I buy this?' motoring questions.

You wouldn't buy one if you enjoyed driving, but at least you'll be able to assuage your boredom behind the wheel with the knowledge you won't need to fix anything until the year 2056.

Another car based on the VW Golf. Are you sensing a trend here? The Tiguan is dependable, well-built, and nowhere near as interesting to own as a delicate, shouty Italian supercar.

What, another Volkswagen? And another Golf-based entrant? Well, we're genuinely surprised. Not really. Scirocco's great, though.

Ah, finally, another car to break the VW stranglehold. Still German, but the C-Class is a very good car. Especially in tyre-chewing AMG flavour, though the running costs are a touch higher...

We cannot begrudge the Skoda Yeti anything, because it's brilliant. And who can forget Jeremy's entirely sensible consumer test of the car on TG telly? If you haven't got one, buy one immediately.

It's a slightly bigger Golf. It's very reliable. We'll still have a non-Plus Golf, ta.

And thus we reach the winner: the most reliable car to own in the UK is the Volkswagen Up. Yes, it's another VW, but this is a properly excellent little city car. And, don't say we didn't tell you so - we awarded it our Small Car Of The Year back in 2011.