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Can you recommend a good insurance company, and whether you prefer the Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus?

My car insurance is due for renewal in the near future and I would be grateful if you would confirm the names of the top five companies in the latest customer care survey. I also own a 2009 Ford Focus and am seriously thinking of making a change. My preferred choice would be the latest Focus or the Golf. I cover around 12,000 miles a year of which around 75 per cent is motorway driving. Do you have any preference between the Focus and Golf, or are they just as good as each other making it down to personal choice? Given the mileage that I cover what would be the best choice engine in both of the ranges?

Asked on 23 November 2013 by RB, Smethwick

Answered by Honest John
I don't know what you mean by ‘customer care survey’. I can tell you that readers are still generally very pleased with LV, that seems to allow its clerks some initiative in dealing with policyolders rather than a fixed databank of rules. On the basis of reader feedback, Fords are generally more reliable than Volkswagens, with lower service and repair costs. But the 'feelgood' factor in the latest Golf is very high. And I think in the real world the Volkswagen 1.2TSI 85 and 105 in the Golf are proving to be more economical than Ford's 1.0 100 and 125 Ecoboosts in the Focus. If you go for diesel, Ford's 8v 1.6 115 engine has a better record than VAG's 1.6TDI.

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