Why you can trust What Car?

What Car? has been helping motorists for more than 50 years, and is now the UK's leading car buying brand.

Whether you're researching new or used cars, looking for advice on buying, owning or selling, or just trying to keep up with the latest motoring news, we can help. And you can even buy your next car through What Car?, because we've partnered with Auto Trader to bring you the biggest selection of discounted new cars available in the UK.

Why you can trust What Car?

The What Car? team places integrity above all else. Our unrivalled experience in testing new and used cars, plus unparalleled advice and research, means What Car? helps 10s of thousands of motorists every month to choose the best car for their needs.

Leaning on more than 100 years of experience between them, our team of car and van reviewers understand the entire market, allowing them to deliver the most authoritative verdicts. If we tell you a vehicle is good, bad, or merely average, it’s a verdict you can trust.

Our testers continually speak with real car buyers to understand what’s most important to them, plus almost 30,000 What Car? readers contribute to our annual survey of car buyer priorities.

Our reader test team features puts real people behind the wheel, and our in-depth research reveals the most reliable new and used cars every year. 

Our monthly magazine sells more than 40,000 copies a month, and our website plays host to more than 20 million users every year – a figure that continues to grow.

How we test cars

What Car? has been testing cars for 50 years, and the same rigour goes into every one of our tests. Our reviews are the most comprehensive around, because unlike many other websites, we test new models back to back with their rivals. That means we're able to give you the most authoritative opinion based on our experience and expertise through our robust testing procedures. What Car? reviews remain the most trusted in the business.

But we won’t just lead you straight into our comprehensive car review archive. Our industry-leading ‘Best Car’ features break down the car market to make it easy for you to discover the best models for you at a glance. And our car comparison tests break down the most popular makes and models so you can make an informed decision.

Trusted news and advice

Unlike some motoring websites, we won’t bombard you with news – just the essentials which will help you to make the right purchase, and to ensure you make the most of your time behind the wheel.

Our consumer investigations into topics such as the new agency sales model, home wallbox chargers and public EV charging networks lead the news agenda, and our trusted research into the most reliable new cars – plus the most reliable used cars – form vital tools to help motorists buy the right car for the right price.

We also keep you informed of the new cars coming soon so you’ll know if there’s something you might want to wait for. If we write about it, motorists need to know about it.

How we test car products

At What Car?, we understand it’s not just new and used cars that compete for motorists’ attention. That’s why we publish an ever-growing number of automotive product reviews, covering parts and accessories as diverse as car polishes, dash cams and tyre pressure gauges.

Our team of experts apply the same rigour to these tests as we do to reviewing new and used cars – so when we say a product is worthy of your cash, you know it’s true. We’ll help you buy those products, too. Every item we list has a link for you to make a purchase, and you can find out more about this at the bottom of the page.

Expert tools and services

Whether you’re buying a new car, selling your current car, need to arrange finance or buy a used car warranty, we’re with you every step of the way. Our carefully-selected partners are highly respected in their fields, so you can be sure of a great service.

Our New Car Deals platform allows you to browse new cars to buy from the comfort of your computer screen, and our company car tax and fuel comparison calculators help you to make the right financial decisions.

Car of the Year Awards

Every year, we name the best new cars you can buy in a range of different categories, and crown one as our overall Car of the Year. Our current Car of the Year is the Lexus LBX, while previous winners have included some of the UK's best-selling new cars, including the Ford Fiesta, BMW 3 Series and Nissan Qashqai.

Target Price

The What Car? Target Price is what we consider to be a fair price for your new car if you order it bespoke from the factory instead of buying a new car from stock via us.

It's set by a team of researchers who constantly monitor the discounts that are available. However, you can sometimes save even more if you haggle hard with the dealer or catch them at a time when they need to sell a few more cars in order to hit a bonus-linked target.

Real MPG

Want to know what your next car will really do to the gallon? What Car?'s Real MPG tests are conducted on a rolling road in strictly controlled laboratory conditions, using a cycle based on real-world driving data.

Used Car Awards

As well as new cars, we also published reviews on used cars, telling you which models are the best to buy in each market. And every year, we pick the best of the bunch in our Used Car Awards.

Reliability Survey

If you're buying a new or used car, then you want to know that it's going to be reliable. That's why, every year, we ask thousands of real owners to tell us about their cars in our Reliability Survey. The results, presented in our New Car Reliability Survey are the most highly-respected in the industry.

Our Used Car Reliability Survey covers cars between six and 20 years old, and is an indispensable guide to anyone buying a used model.

Product tests and affiliate links

We produce a number of product tests on whatcar.com, many of which have links enabling you to purchase them through a retailer. Should you wish to click on one of these links and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission from the retailer, at absolutely no cost to you.

Our product tests are delivered with the expertise, experience and rigour of any other test on whatcar.com, and are never influenced or driven by affiliate deals or commercial or advertising relationships.

There’s no incentive to recommend inferior products from retailers or manufacturers. We feel this is a fair approach that helps balance the need to help readers make informed purchases with the need to fund What Car?’s market leading editorial content. We place the reader at the heart of all review content across What Car?, so when we deliver a best buy or recommended verdict, you can buy with confidence.

Meet the team behind What Car?

Senior editorial team

Editor Steve Huntingford - steve.huntingford@haymarket.com

Digital editor Stuart Milne - stuart.milne@haymarket.com

Deputy digital editor Darren Moss - darren.moss@haymarket.com

Managing editor Allan Muir - allan.muir@haymarket.com

Road test team

Reviews editor Will Nightingale - will.nightingale@haymarket.com

Head of video Doug Revolta - doug.revolta@haymarket.com

Deputy reviews editor Neil Winn - neil.winn@haymarket.com

New cars editor Lawrence Cheung - lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com

Reviewer Dan Jones - dan.jones@haymarket.com

Used team

Used cars editor Mark Pearson - mark.pearson@haymarket.com

Used cars reporter Oliver Young - oliver.young@haymarket.com

Features and digital team

Consumer editor Claire Evans - claire.evans@haymarket.com

Content editor James Tute - james.tute@haymarket.com

Staff writer George Hill - george.hill@haymarket.com

Social media manager Ayisha Gharu - ayisha.gharu@haymarket.com

Editorial apprentice Eleanor Cooper - eleanor.cooper@haymarket.com

Art and subbing team

Group art editor Steve Hopkins - stephen.hopkins@haymarket.com

Brand art editor Chee-Chiu Lee - cheechiu.lee@haymarket.com

Sub-editor Chris Haining - chris.haining@haymarket.com

Photography and video team

Chief photographer John Bradshaw - john.bradshaw@haymarket.com

Senior photographer Max Edleston - max.edleston@haymarket.com

Photographer Jack Harrison - jack.harrison@haymarket.com

Senior videographer Kiall Garrett - kiall.garrett@haymarket.com

Senior videographer Jonty Renk - jonty.renk@haymarket.com

Picture editor Ben Summerell-Youde - ben.summerell-youde@haymarket.com

What Car?'s ownership

What Car? is a strongly independent title and part of Haymarket Automotive, a division of Haymarket Media Group, a global media company that publishes a wide range of automotive and non-automotive titles covering sectors as diverse as medicine, horticulture and the charity sector.

Editorial complaints policy

What Car? believes in the highest standards in journalistic integrity, is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), and we comply with IPSO's Editors' Code of Practice. Where you believe you may have found an instance where you do not believe that we have lived up to those journalistic standards, there is a procedure to follow to notify us. Please note: this policy and procedure only applies to complaints about editorial content in our publications and digital services that Haymarket controls in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

For more information, visit haymarket.com/complaints.

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