The Longest Owner’s Manual In the World

A recent study by the car leasing experts at Leasing Options reveals 1 in 5 (21%) drivers admit to never having read a single page of their car’s owner’s manual. Only, 1 in 4 (19%) drivers have fully read their car's owner's manual, with one-third referring to specific sections when issues arise (36%).

Leasing Options initiated a study to identify global manufacturers with the longest manuals and explore correlations with vehicle fuel type. Additionally, Leasing Options also compared the length of these manuals to famous books to provide more understanding of how long these manuals can take to digest.

It takes over 9 hours to read the average car manual

Our analysis of 240 owner's manuals from 113 internal combustion, 69 hybrid, and 58 electric vehicles revealed an average read time of 9 hours and 18 minutes (111,680 words) to fully digest the average owner’s manual.

For context, this time is just under the average transatlantic flight duration from London Heathrow to Miami International (9 hours and 55 minutes). So, you could fly to Miami in the same amount of time it would take to read your manual.

You could read The Hobbit (and have time to spare) in the time it takes to read a hybrid manual

Hybrid cars have slightly longer owner’s manuals compared to petrol, diesel and electric cars.

On average, a hybrid manual has 113,737 words and takes approximately 9 hours and 28 minutes to read. However, it’s only a small lead, with ICE manuals in second place, with 113,191 words, taking an average of 9 hours and 25 minutes.

The biggest difference can be found in the EVs, where the manuals take an average of 8 hours and 42 minutes (104,550 words) to read. However, this is still longer than it would take to read the entirety of The Hobbit, which would take 7 hours and 55 minutes (95,022 words).

The VW Touareg manual is longer than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Volkswagen Touareg's owner's manual has emerged as the lengthiest of the 240 cars analysed, requiring 15 hours and 56 minutes of reading time. For comparison, this surpasses the amount of time required to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

When scanning through the manual, it’s clear that VW has created a comprehensive owner's manual, covering everything from child seats to belt buckles in fine detail. For example, the airbags section alone spans a considerable 2,580 words.

When you study the top 10 models, you can see why Volkswagen’s owner’s manuals ranked as the second longest in the world on average. Not only does VW take the top spot with the Touareg, but they also take the silver medal with the Touareg’s little brother, the T-Roc, which has a reading time equally as lengthy, at 15 hours and 50 minutes.

Additionally, three more Volkswagens rank in the top 10 longest manuals, with the beloved Polo taking sixth place with a reading time of 14 hours and 26 minutes, closely followed by the new all-electric ID.3 and ID.5 in ninth and tenth respectively, which both take 14 hours and 17 minutes to complete. All are slightly longer reads than Dan Brown’s thriller, The Da Vinci Code, which takes 14 hours and 10 minutes.

You can blast through the Citroën Ami owner’s manual in under an hour

Shortest Owner's Manuals (Models)
Rank	Car	Fuel	Word Count	Read Time (m)	H:M
1	AMI	EV	10,675	53.375	00:53
2	I30	ICE	13,173	65.865	01:05
3	Sportage	Hybrid	15,849	79.245	01:19
4	EV6	EV	17,030	85.15	01:25
5	EV9	EV	17,159	85.795	01:25
6	Niro	EV	17,254	86.27	01:26
7	Niro	Hybrid	17,804	89.02	01:29
8	Sorento	Hybrid	17,836	89.18	01:29
9	Soul	EV	20,053	100.265	01:40
10	Sorento	ICE	20,548	102.74	01:42

The Citroën Ami manual, however, requires a mere 53 minutes to peruse from beginning to end. You can only read 4% of A Game Of Thrones in that time.

Interestingly, if you started watching the classic film "Titanic" while reading the Ami manual, you could finish your second read-through as the infamous iceberg scene occurs at 1 hour 40 minutes.

Despite the vastly different word count to those manuals at the top of the leaderboard, the Citroën AMI’s manual is still comprehensive. The AMI’s manual utilises imagery to demonstrate how to use the different functions of the car with intricate diagrams.

Closely following the Ami were the Hyundai I30, just tipping over the hour mark at 1 hour and 5 minutes, and the Kia Sportage in third, taking 14 extra minutes at 1 hour and 19 minutes overall.

Genesis takes the top spot in manufacturer owner's manuals, clocking in at over 13 hours

When splitting up the data by manufacturers, Genesis, the South Korean manufacturer, part of the wider Hyundai Motor Group, ranked top of the leaderboard for the longest owner’s manuals. These manuals clock in at 13 hours and 29 minutes of reading time on average. You could watch three and a half Super Bowls in the same time. 

Hot on Genesis' heels are the German giant, Volkswagen. Their manuals come in at a close second, demanding an average of 13 hours and 22 minutes to read.

Taking the third spot on the podium is Nissan, with manuals averaging 12 hours and 55 minutes. These are both longer reads than the Suzanne Collins Hunger Games novel, The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, which takes 13 hours and 9 minutes to complete.

KIA owners have the shortest manufacturer manuals, at a speedy hour and a half on average

Shortest Owner's Manuals (Manufacturers)
Rank	Brand	Average Word Count	Average Read Time (m)	Average H:M
1	Kia	17,942	90	01:29
2	Abarth	43,246	216	03:36
3	BYD	59,707	299	04:58
4	Dacia	62,482	312	05:12
5	Vauxhall	67,101	336	05:35
6	Citroën	72,281	361	06:01
7	Renault	75,177	376	06:15
8	DS	78,846	394	06:34
9	MINI	88,398	442	07:21
10	Skoda	88,825	444	07:24

KIA owners only need to take 1 hour and 29 minutes out of their day to read their manual. The manuals can be digested in the same amount of time it takes to watch two episodes of Clarkson’s Farm.

In a similar fashion to the Citroën AMI, the KIA manuals are far more visual than some of the other manufacturers we analysed. The KIA Niro EV manual, for example, has an image for almost everything on the dashboard, including warning lights, car blueprints, heating and seat options, and much, much more. This enables the owner to be able to scan through the manual much faster, which is a real bonus if you require a quick fix or explanation.

Following closely behind are Abarth manuals, requiring an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes to peruse. This is particularly noteworthy considering their parent company, Fiat, lands nine places higher, with an average reading time of 7 hours and 28 minutes, highlighting the different approaches within the automotive group.

The third quickest manuals to read come from BYD, with an average scan time of 4 hours and 58 minutes.

Why you should always keep your car manual on hand

“While the car's manual may be lengthy, we recommend keeping it handy in your glove box” states Mike Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at Leasing Options. “It can be a valuable resource, especially during unexpected situations, like a dashboard warning light. The manual helps you distinguish between minor issues you can address yourself (e.g., flat tyre/s) and situations requiring immediate assistance. It also helps you make informed decisions about when to continue driving or seek help.”

Car Leasing with Leasing Options

Whether you require a hybrid lease, electric lease or any other car lease, Leasing Options has you covered. Simply find the perfect car for you from our huge range of car leasing deals and then get in touch with us, and we’ll be on hand to help get you behind the wheel as quickly as possible.

Methodology

Leasing Options’ study analysed 240 car manuals, comprising 29 different manufacturers from the world's leading manufacturer groups, ranked by cumulative sales between January and September 2023. A few notable additions from other manufacturers outside of these parameters were also included, such as Tesla and BYD. Out of these cars, 113 were internal combustion engines, 69 were Hybrid cars (combining PHEV and HEV cars) and 58 were Electric cars.

Manuals were sourced from manufacturer websites where possible. Additional sources were used when manuals could not be gathered. Some manufacturers replace the term “manual” with “handbook”.