WHEN it comes to recommending a car to a friend, then two vastly different models top the popularity stakes ... namely the £32,960-plus BMW X5 and the £10,050 Toyota Yaris Verso.

This rather surprising decision is revealed by Which? The Consumer Magazine.

In its annual Which? Car report, a survey of its members covered nearly 33,000 cars up to eight years old, and they were asked to give a detailed account of their motoring experiences over the previous 12 months. Members gave ratings for all aspects of their cars and also said how they rated the dealers.

The Which? report, probably the country's largest reliability and satisfaction survey, provides detailed information on 138 new and used cars.

The BMW X5 and Toyota Yaris Verso topped the recommendation poll, with 92 per cent of owners responding positively to the question asking if they would recommend their car to a friend.

Four Japanese cars (Toyota Yaris Verso - also considered by Which? Car as the best buy car on the market - Mazda MX-5, Lexus IS200 and the Toyota Yaris super mini) made the top ten, while two British-built cars also joined the elite group, the Jaguar S-type and MINI, both with 88 per cent. Two Skodas, the Octavia, with 90 per cent, and Fabia with 86 per cent, also made the top ten. The Audi TT also figures in the table.

At the bottom end of the recommendation table there is bad news for Citroen. The Saxo received the lowest score, with 34 per cent, while the Xsara managed only 37 per cent. However, Citroen has launched two new models which have been well received, and so should lift the French manufacturer in later surveys. The British-built Rover also fared badly, the Rover 25 scored only 40 per cent while the Rover 45 was little better with 42 per cent.

Which? Car has also given details of cars it considers best buys, the finest of today's new cars. To become a best buy, cars must impress not just their owners, but also Which? Car experts, including safety and security specialists. These cars have earned their spurs in all of the key areas that are important to car buyers, that is reliability, safety, security, running costs and owner satisfaction.

The best superminis were judged to be the Toyota Yaris (priced between £6,865 and £12,350) and Yaris Verso (between £10,050 and £11,560) and the Honda Jazz (£8,870 - £12,070). While the Yaris keeps its best-buy crown for the third year running, the Jazz is new to the table. These three were deemed to offer peerless reliability and to be equally impressive for safety.

There is a familiar look to the best-buys list in the medium car sector, with both the Ford Focus (£9,850 - £19,915) and the Honda Civic (£9,870 - £16,815) staying in the top spot. However, this year they are joined by the Nissan Almera (£9,850 - £15,095) and Toyota Corolla (£10,650 - £15,815), with the judges deciding there was little to choose between all four.

The large car class is really divided into two. At the more prosaic end, the Nissan Primera (£14,435 - £20,320) is top, viewed as a good all-rounder, while at the premium end of the market the Lexus IS200/IS300 (£18,435 - £30,930) and the ubiquitous BMW 3 Series (£16,370 - £33,170) both hold on to their best buy status from last year.

Jaguar's S-type (£24,770 - £47,220) takes the best buy accolade in the luxury car class, thanks to lavish praise from owners and some impressive scores for safety and security.

Best buy in the compact people carrier sector was Nissan's Almera Tino (£12,720 - £17,175) rated among the best for security and safety. Least recommended cars by owners also includes the Ford Galaxy, Land Rover Freelander, Vauxhall Omega, Fiat Punto and Mitsubishi Carisma.

Which? Note: 80,000 questionnaires were sent to a random selection of subscribers. Just over 27,080 were completed which gave details on 32,926 cars up to eight years old.

Updated: 10:15 Friday, October 03, 2003