Japanese manufacturers top a survey on car reliability in a new poll conducted by the Consumers Association's.

Japanese cars dominated the super minis and medium range cars sections in the Which? Car survey, with Toyota's Yaris Verso emerging as the most popular car with 91% of the voters naming it as the best car.

The best small cars were Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and Toyota Yaris Verso.

Honda's Civic model, the Toyota Corolla and the Ford Focus were voted as the best cars in the medium range section and the Lexus IS200/IS300 Nissan Primera, Mercedes-Benz C-class and the Volvo S60 were the best large cars.

The best small multi-purpose vehicle was the Nissan Almera Tino, while Mercedes-Benz E-class and the Jaguar S-type, were the best luxury cars.

But the Fiat Bravo hatchback has been announced as the most unpopular car to own in Britain.

Only 22% of owners would recommend the five-door Brava or three-door Bravo version to a friend, says the Consumers' Association poll.

That compares with 91% who sing the praises of the UK's most highly regarded car - Toyota's Yaris Verso.

The Fiat is one of nine models named and shamed as lemons in a survey of 34,227 newand second-hand cars up to eight years old.

Vauxhall's Vectra and Ford's popular Galaxy are also slated along with Citroen's C5, the Daewoo Nubira, Mitsubishi Carisma, Peugeot 406, Renault Laguna and VW Polo.

Which? said the 1995 to 2002 Brava/Bravo range are uncomfortable to drive or travel in.

They give poor marks for visibility when parking, appearance and design, noise levels, the heating and ventilation system, rear legroom and boot size. It had low marks for crash protection.

A Fiat spokesman says: “This survey does not accord with our feedback from customers.”