Friday 5th June 2009

Lexus Walks JD Power; Fiat Trips Up

The 2009 JD Power survey has been released, and it's not pretty reading unless you own a Lexus

---

The Lexus RX took top spot

JD Power has today released its annual vehicle satisfaction survey and once again - for the ninth consecutive year in fact - Lexus has strolled to victory. In the league table of manufacturers, Lexus beat all 28 other makes surveyed, with an average rating of 83.3 per cent. Lexus also did well in the individual model rankings, with the RX SUV taking overall top spot and the IS saloon fourth.

Mercedes owners seem to be a pretty happy bunch too. With an overall score of 80.8 per cent Merc was rated the third-best manufacturer by its customers, making it the top non-Japanese manufacturer.

A happy Merc customer? We think so

You're less likely to be happy with your BMW, though: the best the blue propeller could manage was the 5-series, which was ranked 17th.

Porsche managed a mildly disappointing eighth overall, one place better than BMW - although no Porsche models were ranked individually as the sales volumes were too small for the survey. Both Porsche's and BMW's scores of 80.3 and 80.2 per cent respectively did better the industry average of 78.1 per cent, however.

Notable losers in the survey were the Subaru and Fiat. The Impreza came in 45th place - bad for a model whose ancestors regularly featured in the top ten, while Fiat had the dubious honour of ranking in last place overall and, with the Punto, last in the model rankings.

Se below for the full table of manufacturer rankings.

A top-to-bottom list of manufacturers

[robert_raw]

I suppose everyone always knew that Honda and Lexus were going to be the most satisfactory cars

a. becuase they are good quality reliable cars
b. becuase all the drivers are old.

Would br interesting to see individual cars.

[singlecoil]

Good to see Jaguar so high in the ratings

[E21_Ross]

too bad i just don't find lexus's (lexi...? in the words of alan partidge!) interesting...at all. would rather a very slightly more unreliable car, for a much more interesting drive.

[PissedOnRing]

Great to see Skoda so high in the ratings, whipping VW & Audi.

[SleeperCell]

Oh well, next year they can merge Chrysler and Fiat into one entry, but it will probably still be at the bottom of the list...

[bazking69]

No real shocks there. The usual suspects are at the top and bottom.
Nice to see Merc back up there after their darker period, and also LR seem to be faring quite well compared to recent years.

[williamp]

I always question these results: if you're not expecting much, its easy to be surprised. But if you are expecting a lot (Porsche, M-B, jaguar owners etc) you might expect a lot more, hence be more dissappointed and be mroe critical. You would'nt complain if some stitching is out of place on your Honda or Skoda. But on anything above £30K, you would complain.

[blank]

williamp said:

I always question these results: if you're not expecting much, its easy to be surprised. But if you are expecting a lot (Porsche, M-B, jaguar owners etc) you might expect a lot more, hence be more dissappointed and be mroe critical. You would'nt complain if some stitching is out of place on your Honda or Skoda. But on anything above £30K, you would complain.

That's a very good point. And suggests Lexus and Merc must be excellent.

It also suggests FIATs must be fking awful!

[matc]

I know Lexus's customer service is supposed to be exceptional, but their range is a bit poor....Yaris switchgear in the IS range for example. My personal opinion is that the owners of said 'lexi' give them rave reviews in the JD Power surverys to justify their purchase over another premium brand. Also they don't really chase after the high volume fleet market like Mercedes/BMW/Audi have done over the past few years.

Anyway just my 2 penneth worth!!

[va1o]

Merc are back at the top

[Alfa_75_Steve]

PissedOnRing said:

Great to see Skoda so high in the ratings, whipping VW & Audi.

Which just demonstrates that the survey is more about expectation than anything else.

Some of the stuff I thought wasn't so good in my Passat would be considered by some to be perfectly acceptable in a Skoda - even if the prices were comparable.

[War Pig]

Don't quite understand the Skoda's being higher than VW, Audi.

Don't they use the same parts?

[va1o]

Where can I see individuals car ratings?

War Pig said:

Don't quite understand the Skoda's being higher than VW, Audi.

Don't they use the same parts?

I guess customer service plays a part, and maybe the fact Skodas are more basic with less to go wrong?

[morgrp]

Alfa_75_Steve said:

PissedOnRing said:

Great to see Skoda so high in the ratings, whipping VW & Audi.

Which just demonstrates that the survey is more about expectation than anything else.

Some of the stuff I thought wasn't so good in my Passat would be considered by some to be perfectly acceptable in a Skoda - even if the prices were comparable.

From a mechanics point of view, the reason skoda's fair better than VW and Audi is that their componentry is far simpler - Rather than having complicated electronic controls for lights, ventilation etc ala VWs and Audi's Skoda's have to make do with simpler, more basic systems, not so good down the pub for bragging but much better when your car goes for a service.

I'm just glad there is finally proof that Subaru's aren't as reliable as people make out - We effing hate work on them when they come in

[Alfa_75_Steve]

va1o said:

Where can I see individuals car ratings?

War Pig said:

Don't quite understand the Skoda's being higher than VW, Audi.

Don't they use the same parts?

I guess customer service plays a part, and maybe the fact Skodas are more basic with less to go wrong?

Not really - if you compare like for like.

ie. Golf with Octavia. 'cooking' models are pretty much identical in specs.

Same with the Fabia / Polo and Superb / Passat.

Although Superb figures will be skewed in favour of Skoda as it would be the old B5.5 based Superb - and B5.5s are possibly one of the finest built mass-produced cars of all time.

[yellowbentines]

My local Merc dealer has a JD Power trophy on their service desk, most improved manufacturer I think, I feel like smacking the service advisor in the chops with it each time i'm in discussing what they've done wrong/forgot to check/can't fix/won't fix- I wonder if JD Power will tell me where these happy Merc owners get their cars serviced?

[va1o]

yellowbentines said:

I wonder if JD Power will tell me where these happy Merc owners get their cars serviced?

I'll tell you for free, hertford.

[yellowbentines]

va1o said:

yellowbentines said:

I wonder if JD Power will tell me where these happy Merc owners get their cars serviced?

I'll tell you for free, hertford.

Hmmm, an 800 mile round trip is around £100 quid in diesel and a day off work, I'll continue to take my chances with my local dealer thanks

[salviablue]

blank said:

williamp said:

I always question these results: if you're not expecting much, its easy to be surprised. But if you are expecting a lot (Porsche, M-B, jaguar owners etc) you might expect a lot more, hence be more dissappointed and be mroe critical. You would'nt complain if some stitching is out of place on your Honda or Skoda. But on anything above £30K, you would complain.

That's a very good point. And suggests Lexus and Merc must be excellent.

It also suggests FIATs must be fking awful!

Don't know about Lexus and/or mercs but fiats are fking aweful!

[malaccamax]

I wonder what percentage of Skoda owners are first-time new-car buyers?

I've heard said that their brand loyalty is stronger - and therefore the JDP answers more forgiving - because they're defensive about the badge, but it might also be because that compared to their old heap, a new Fabia is a thing of wonderment.