Survey: What car brands make owners happiest?
- Porsche top brand
- Range Rover top single model
- Chevy has most model winners
For the ninth straight year, Porsche ranks first as a brand when it comes to having the "most appealing vehicles," that is, the most satisfied owners, a new J.D. Power and Associates study reports.
Land Rover's newly redone Range Rover was the top-scoring individual vehicle in the survey.
Unlike the quality studies for which it is best known, Power's Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study is aimed at seeing which models are just plain well-liked by their owners.
It is followed in the industry because happy owners are more likely to stick by a brand for their next purchase and buyers tend to pay more for cars ranking high for satisfied owners.
Apparently, happy owners are also rich owners because all the top brands in the brand rankings are in the luxury category.
The study measures 77 attributes to create a score, which is measured against other models and brands.
Among the highlights of the 2013 APEAL study:
- Volkswagen Group receives the highest number of best model by category awards of all corporations when its three brands, VW, Audi and Porsche are taken into consideration. Segement winners included Audi allroad, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen GTI and Volkswagen Passat.
- Chevrolet receives the highest number of segment awards of any individual brand, meaning it had the most individual models that performed well. They included Avalanche, Sonic and Volt models, all of which also received awards in 2012.
- Land Rover's Range Rover crossover, in achieving the highest score of any model in the industry in 2013, is breaking through a barrier. It is only the second time that the highest score did not go to big luxury car.
- Porsche always scores well as a brand that has an engaged and emotional body of owners.
Here is the brand list and their satisfaction scores out of 1,000, followed the top-ranked car or truck for happy owners by vehicle category :
Brands Ranking:
- Porsche 884
- Audi 857
- BMW 854
- Land Rover 853
- Lexus 847
- Mercedes-Benz 847
- Cadillac 841
- Jaguar 839
- Lincoln 835
- Infiniti 831
- Ram 817
- Volvo 812
- Acura 811
- Volkswagen 809
- Mini 801
- Buick 800
- Kia 797
- INDUSTRY AVERAGE 795
- Hyundai 792
- Honda 791
- Ford 790
- Nissan 790
- Chevrolet 788
- Dodge 787
- Chrysler 784
- GMC 784
- Fiat 781
- Scion 778
- Mazda 776
- Toyota 776
- Jeep 763
- Subaru 756
- Mitsubishi 749
- Smart 739
Best Cars by category:
- Best City Car: Fiat 500
- Best Sub-Compact Car: Chevrolet Sonic.
- Best Compact Car: Chevrolet Volt
- Best Compact Sporty Car: Volkswagen GTI.
- Best Compact Premium Car: Lincoln MKZ.
- Best Compact Premium Sporty Car: Porsche Boxster.
- Best Midsize Car: Volkswagen Passat.
- Best Midsize Sporty Car: Ford Mustang.
- Best Midsize Premium Car: BMW 5 Series.
- Best Midsize Premium Sporty Car: Mercedes-Benz SL Class.
- Best Large Car: Dodge Charger.
- Best Large Premium Car: Lexus LS.
Best Crossovers and Trucks by category:
- Best Subcompact Crossover: Buick Encore.
- Best Compact Crossover: Mazda CX-5
- Best Compact Premium Crossover: Audi Allroad.
- Best Midsize Crossover: Nissan Murano.
- Best Compact Multipurpose Vehicle: Kia Soul.
- Best Midsize Premium Crossover: Porsche Cayenne.
- Best Minivan: Honda Odyssey.
- Best Large Crossover: Nissan Armada.
- Best Large Premium Crossover: Land ROver Range Rover
- Best Large Light-duty Pickup: Chevrolet Avalanche
- Best Large Heavy-duty Pickup: Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty