Owner’s manuals have been analysed for 20 of the most popular car models in the UK to discover which are the most confusing and which are the easiest to read.
The analysis was conducted by experts at Independent Advisor Car Insurance and revealed the following:
The most and least confusing car manuals
|
Rank |
Make |
Model |
Manual word count |
Readability score /100* |
|
1 |
Vauxhall |
Corsa |
66,923 |
15.3 |
|
2 |
Vauxhall |
Mokka |
58,376 |
16.0 |
|
3 |
Vauxhall |
Astra |
50,891 |
19.3 |
|
4 |
Volkswagen |
Polo |
28,992 |
19.7 |
|
5 |
Ford |
Focus |
117,574 |
19.9 |
|
6 |
Ford |
Fiesta |
92,770 |
20.9 |
|
7 |
Ford |
Puma |
122,538 |
22.3 |
|
8 |
BMW |
3 Series |
97,250 |
26.8 |
|
9 |
Mini |
Hatch |
78,783 |
27.9 |
|
10 |
Nissan |
Juke |
126,329 |
34.4 |
|
11 |
Nissan |
Qashqai |
121,152 |
35.9 |
|
12 |
Tesla |
Model Y |
130,814 |
37.7 |
|
13 |
Renault |
Clio |
84,687 |
39.5 |
|
14 |
Kia |
Sportage |
160,296 |
40.0 |
|
15 |
Toyota |
Yaris |
113,685 |
40.6 |
|
16 |
BMW |
1 Series |
72,849 |
42.4 |
|
17 |
Hyundai |
Tucson |
142,959 |
45.5 |
|
18 |
Volkswagen |
Golf |
114,964 |
50.2 |
|
19 |
Volkswagen |
T-Roc |
120,609 |
51.7 |
|
20 |
Audi |
Audi A3 |
117,650 |
53.0 |
*Higher readability score = more readable
According to the study, Vauxhall tops the rankings with confusing car manuals, with all three of the most confusing owner’s manuals belonging to the brand. Although the manuals scored poorly for readability, the word counts are among the lowest in the study – all under 70,000 words.
The most confusing car manual is for the Vauxhall Corsa, with a readability score of just 15.3 out of 100. The models in second and third place which also belong to the brand are the Mokka and Astra, with scores of 16 and 19.3 out of 100 respectively.
All of the Vauxhall car manuals in the study were discovered to be equivalent to university graduate level reading, which could cause problems for many car owners.
The Volkswagen Polo is the first non-Vauxhall model in the rankings, with a readability score of 19.7 out of 100, putting the vehicle fourth in the rankings. However, this manual is significantly shorter than any other in the study, at 28,992 words.
Ford is another brand making multiple appearances in the top of the rankings, with the fifth, sixth, and seventh most confusing car manuals belonging to Ford vehicles.
The car with the most easily readable manual in the study is the Audi A3, with a readability score of 53 out of 100.
The longest manual in the study belongs to the Kia Sportage, with 160,296 words: longer than both Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (155,960 words), and each of the second and third books in the Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Two Towers and The Return of the King, 143,436 words and 134,462 words respectively).
