LEXUS tops the 2001 UK Car Customer Satisfaction Study for the first time with three models - the LS400, the GS300 and the IS200 - in the top 10. The annual survey, now in its eighth year, was conducted by J D Power and Associates in association with BBC Top Gear and with the co-operation of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

It is the first time that the Japanese executive car brand has been represented in the annual survey of the UK car market and it topped the survey's customer satisfaction index with 867 points out of a maximum 1,000. Based on the returns of 28,748 drivers across 38 brands and 182 models second was Jaguar (844 points) - taking the runner-up spot for the third consecutive year - followed by BMW (836 points) and Toyota (834 points). The industry average was 784 points.

Poll winner for the past two years Subaru was eighth (823 points). The most satisfying model to drive was the LS400 (889 points out of 1,000) followed by the Toyota Yaris (876 points), Lexus GS300 (869 points), BMW 7-series (861 points), Lexus IS200 (859 points), MG Rover 75 (859 points), Jaguar XJ Series (855 points), Mercedes-Benz E-class (852 points), BMW 5-series (851 points) and Toyota Camry (848 points).

The survey takes into account vehicle quality and reliability, ownership costs, service satisfaction and vehicle appeal. Dave Sargent, partner of director of European operations at J D Power and Associates, said: 'The position of Lexus comes as a result of leading the industry in both quality/reliability and vehicle appeal. The brand also places second to Jaguar for service satisfaction. This mirrors owner experience in the United States market where Lexus has been placed at the top of the CSI rankings for a number of years.'