French cars appear to have lost some of their "va va voom", according to a customer satisfaction survey dominated by Japanese makes.

Six of the 10 worst cars in a Which? Car poll were French, with drivers complaining of poor reliability, cheap interiors and clunky gearboxes.

Bottom of the heap was the Renault Espace, followed by the Renault Laguna, described by one owner as an "unreliable bag of spanners".

Seven of the top 10 cars were Japanese, although the best car was the German-built Porsche Boxster.

"It's no surprise to see several Japanese cars in the top 10 as they are often reliable, economical and good value," said Which? Car magazine's editor Richard Headland.

Renault said the company had been working hard to improve quality and reliability and owners of its newer cars were overwhelmingly satisfied with them.

"Renault has acknowledged the quality issues which affected some of its older models, particularly minor electrical faults with the previous Laguna," it said in a statement. "However, vehicle quality is one of Renault's key three objectives in its Renault Commitment 2009 programme."

The survey was based on 90,000 owners questioned last January and February. They were asked if they were satisfied with their car and whether they would recommend it to a friend.

Following are the top and bottom 10 tables, with the year of manufacture and the customer satisfaction percentage score in brackets:

Top 10

1) Porsche Boxster, 2004 on, (98 per cent)
2) Range Rover Sport, 2005 on, (98)
3) Toyota Yaris Verso, 2000-2005, (97)
4) Honda S2000, 1999 on, (97)
5) Mazda MX-5, 2005 on, (97)
6) Mazda MX-5, 1998-2005, (95)
7) Audi TT, 2006 on, (94)
8) Lexus RX, 2003 on, (94)
9) Daihatsu Sirion, 2005 on, (94)
10) Honda Jazz, 2001 on, (94)

Bottom 10

210) Chrysler Voyager, 1997-2001, (69)
211) Peugeot 206, 1998 on, (69)
212) Peugeot 307, 2001 on, (68)
213) Volkswagen Sharan, 1995 on, (68)
214) Citroen Xsara, 1997-2004, (68)
215) Renault Scenic, 1997-2003, (67)
216) Fiat Punto, 1999-2005, (65)
217) Mercedes A-Class, 1998-2004, (65)
218) Renault Laguna, 2001-2007, (64)
219) Renault Espace, 2003 on, (61)