Such a policy was this week branded 'unfair' by the Consumers' Association which says all car buyers should have the benefit of three-year warranty cover as standard. And its view comes just a week after a survey by Sewells International and independent market research organisation MFBI, which was sponsored by PHH Vehicle Management Services, suggested fleet operators would increasingly reject company cars which had only 12 months warranty cover in favour of marques which offer three years' peace of mind.

None of Britain's top five fleet manufacturers - Ford, Vauxhall, Rover, Peugeot or Renault offer three-year warranties as standard - although Renault is trialling three-year warranty cover on the Megane Classic.

The Consumers' Association has campaigned for three-year standard warranties from all manufacturers. A spokeswoman said: 'We don't think it is fair that with companies such as Ford and Vauxhall you cannot get a three-year warranty in this country but you can in others. We also do not think it is fair that fleet customers can get three-year warranties when private customers can't.'

The anomalous position of warranty cover is underlined by the fact that the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 121 and the Rover 600 and Honda Accord are effectively the same vehicles but only the Japanese versions offer three-year warranty as standard.