What 2003 Vehicles Are Tops In Satisfaction
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AutoPacific Releases 2003 Vehicle Satisfaction Scores
Cadillac Top Brand, LS430 Top Car, Escalade EXT Top Truck
Results of a study released today by noted automotive consulting firm AutoPacific, Inc. reveal high owner satisfaction with new 2003 model year cars and light trucks. AutoPacific’s VSS (Vehicle Satisfaction Score) study is an industry benchmark for objective measure of new vehicle owner satisfaction.
Cadillac is highest-rated brand for 2003. Being at the top is familiar territory for Cadillac, as it shared top honors with Lexus in 2002 and won outright in 2001.
The individual vehicle registering highest overall satisfaction for a fourth consecutive year is Lexus' LS sedan, represented for 2003 by the LS 430 model. The highest-rated truck is Cadillac’s new Avalanche-based Escalade EXT, which brings high-level luxury to the basic GM midgate concept.
"By corporation, Ford and Honda earn most awards with five segment winners each”, notes AutoPacific founder and president George Peterson. "Toyota follows with four segment winners and General Motors three, although Cadillac’s brand victory raises GM’s award count to four.” The Hyundai-Kia group continues its recent success with two segment victories, while Volkswagen receives one.
A special-achievement award is also given to Nissan for its new Murano. In spite of Murano having been on the market for a limited period of time and resultant smaller survey sample size, it still generates an astounding 755 points on AutoPacific’s 1000-point scale. This score makes Murano third most-satisfying vehicle in the North American market. “It’s great to add an extra award this year recognizing Nissan”, says Peterson, “as they are not only exploring new design concepts but appear to have developed some exceptional vehicles in the process. Among several great new Nissans, Murano in particular is a real home-run.”
Top performers by segment are:
BRAND: Cadillac
PASSENGER CARS:
Premium Luxury Car Lexus LS 430 (4-peat winner)
Contemporary Luxury Car Acura TL
American Luxury Car Cadillac DeVille (repeat winner)
Premium Mid-Size Car Honda Accord (sedan and coupe)
Standard Mid-Size Car Mazda6
Compact Car Hyundai Elantra (tied)
Volkswagen New Beetle (tied) (repeat winner)
Sports Car Lexus SC430 (repeat winner)
Sporty Car Acura RSX
LIGHT TRUCKS:
Large Light-Duty Pickup Toyota Tundra
Large Heavy-Duty Pickup Ford F-Series Super Duty
Large 4-Dooor Pickup/SUT Cadillac Escalade EXT
Compact Pickup Toyota Tacoma
Compact 4-Door Pickup/SUT Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Luxury Sport Utility Lincoln Navigator
Large Sport Utility Ford Excursion (repeat winner)
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility GMC Envoy
Standard Mid-Size Sport Utility Kia Sorento
Compact Sport Utility Honda CR-V (repeat winner)
Minivan Honda Odyssey
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT: Nissan Murano
All winning manufacturers receive AutoPacific’s coveted VSS “speedform” award, featuring a blue stylized vehicle mounted on a clear and black plexiglass base. The speedform, with its decidedly automotive shape and appearance, underscores AutoPacific’s role as an auto industry specialist. In fact, AutoPacific works exclusively in and with the auto industry, leaving restaurants, airlines and hotels to others.
In addition to identifying segment winners, VSS also establishes numerical ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the North American market. VSS also calculates satisfaction in 41 specific areas related to each vehicle's operation, comfort, safety and purchase/lease experience. Ratings reflect input from over 36,000 buyers and lessees of new vehicles acquired September-December 2002.
AutoPacific releases VSS results yearly as a free consumer and industry service. AutoPacific also offers a Satisfaction Benchmark Study (SBS) that analyzes, on a feature-by-feature basis, cars and trucks in the North American market. This study allows manufacturers and key suppliers to assess and compare their vehicles on a feature level with the best in the business. "We feel SBS is the best and most economical way for manufacturers and suppliers to rate their own performance, and find out who is setting the standard for satisfaction. It then takes the analysis to the discrete level, from cupholders to the dealership experience," says Peterson.
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product consulting firm. Every year it publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area.
CONTACT: George Peterson or Dan Hall @ AutoPacific, 714.838.4234 or 800.576.AUTO
AutoPacific, Inc.
Additional George Peterson comments regarding individual winners:
Brand - Cadillac: “It’s no accident that Cadillac is a three-peat brand winner. For some years, Cadillac has been working hard behind the scenes to reassert its position as “Standard of the World”. Long-time favorites such as DeVille and Seville, joined more recently by several different Escalades and CTS, are modern and technologically advanced. New entries XLR and SLX due later this year will add to the inertia already generated. It’s clear Cadillac’s efforts are being rewarded with tangible dividends. These dividends are likely to be magnified in the future as additional new Cadillacs are launched that meet the most challenging international standards."
Premium Luxury car - Lexus LS 430: "As a four-peat highest satisfaction vehicle on the market, LS 430 continues to shine with its combination of advanced features, high level of overall refinement, and exceptional attention to detail. When you look at it up-close, it's built like the finest watch. Or you might think of it as platinum jewelry in the form of an automobile -- endearing, enduring, and timeless. Lexus may no longer need to relentlessly pursue perfection. With LS 430, it’s possible they’ve actually found it!”
Contemporary Luxury Car - Acura TL: “TL has been on the market in current form for several years, and underscores the adage that practice makes perfect. Several things about TL are interesting. From a conceptual and design standpoint, TL may not necessarily be the most modern vehicle in its class, but is precisely what its enthusiastic customers want. They perceive elements of refinement, luxury, sleekness and elegance far surpassing competitors. Also, every TL is made in the United States, demonstrating how perfectly Japanese technology and American craftsmanship can and do combine.”
“An all-new TL not just made in the U.S. but fully developed in the U.S. will be on the market in a few months. The new model updates the basic TL theme with exterior styling reminiscent of the striking TSX. Acura is pursuing family identity in its exterior designs, with the result that new models across the board are not only more uniform, but uniformly beautiful.”
American Luxury Car - Cadillac DeVille: "DeVille's overall design and advanced features, such as its ground-breaking night-vision system, are striking a responsive chord among consumers. Cadillac has a long history of leadership. It's great to see Cadillac leading again with exceptional quality and bold, assertive new technologies. It’s also gratifying to see how well Cadillac’s product, marketing and retail programs continue to satisfy its already devoted owner base.”
Premium Mid-Size Car - Honda Accord: “It’s hard to imagine Accord has been successfully reshaping American popular perceptions on “ideal” personal and family transport for close to 30 years. Seems like only yesterday Accord was new kid on the block that everyone wanted but few could actually have, with demand outstripping supply by a huge multiple.”
“Passages of time notwithstanding, Accord continues evergreen as first an import phenomenon and now a thoroughly domestic one. Call it the archtypical family sedan (or personal coupe), at or near the top of the sales charts year after year, continually satisfying owners who’ve owned bunches of them over the years and who would not shop anything else. Safe purchase? Of course! But let’s remember that ‘safe purchase’ is accompanied by quality, durability, reliability and resale few – if any -- can match. Accord also epitomizes taste and restraint, with an enduring and stable style that defies age and changing tastes. New or old, Accord is a steady and reassuring constant in our otherwise harried and uncertain world.”
Standard Mid-Size Car - Mazda6: “Here’s a great and terrific surprise! New name, new car, new component set, new everything that happens to be just right out of the box. Mazda is to be commended sticking to its style/sport/fun/value heritage with the 6, launching an enthusiastic vehicle heavily focused on the driving enthusiast. Others may have size and bulk; 6 is lean and lithe. Others may have great automatics; 6 beckons with a manual. Others may be painted various shades of gray; 6 glistens in chrome yellow. No, 6 is not the typical mid-line, mid-size sedan. Instead, it’s the exceptional one.”
Compact Car - Hyundai Elantra: “Within its competitive set, Elantra underscores that continuing investment in keeping a product interesting and up-to-date yields commensurate rewards. Elantra gradually improves with each model year while many direct competitors are allowed to languish, with the result Elantra buyers are surprised and delighted at how good their new cars actually are. Of course, rising fuel prices also play right into Elantra’s hand. So does the fantastic Hyundai warranty. Message to the competition: Don’t allow the grass to grow under your feet!”
Compact Car - Volkswagen New Beetle: “New Beetle’s best-in-class performance is a real tribute to the car’s ingenious design as well as dramatically improved quality out of its Puebla, Mexico assembly facility. Puebla is now truly world-class. Next time you look at a Beetle, pay close attention to the seams, joins, surfaces and paint quality. In every visible aspect, Beetle is now as good as anything out of Wolfsburg. It’s a real beauty just to admire and run your hands along. The Turbo and new Cabriolet models have added some real spice to the offering too. On the Cabrio, the exterior/interior color combinations alone are worth the price of admission.”
Sports Car - Lexus SC 430: “As a repeat winner, SC430 continues to satisfy more than some of the finest, most respected and most expensive vehicles on earth. It’s quite a car on a variety of levels. The solid folding top is a joy to behold, either in-place or in the process of going up and down. The interior –- available with either blond or dark wood trim – is a work of modern art befitting the finest homes, let alone cars. The Mark Levinson audio system can reasonably be claimed the finest on earth, while the high-mount, in-dash navigation system shows every other car how it should be done. Of course, build quality is impeccable. Even the color and trim program defines perfection, with unforgettable exterior colors that radiate depth and elegance and equally attention-getting interior tones. In short, SC 430 is one magnificent piece!”
Sporty Car - Acura RSX: “Acura took a risk retiring the time-honored Integra name and replacing the 3-door model with the much more refined and elegant RSX. In fact, some Integra purists initially decried the naming and positioning shifts, wondering where all the Fast and Furious elements of their vaunted vehicles had gone. However, there was no need for either purists or Acura to worry. RSX is a beautiful, fast, refined and fantastic vehicle in and of itself, winning over old and new fans alike. In time, surely all the fussing will have been forgotten, as RSX seems destined – like its Integra predecessors – to rise from the ranks of the merely desirable to the truly iconic.”
Large Light-Duty Pickup Truck - Toyota Tundra: “It was bound to happen someday. Not only was Toyota going to enter the previously all-domestic full-size pickup market, but at some point was going to rise to challenge the very best. Consider it done. For those who didn’t see it coming, it’s no longer an excuse to say you weren’t warned. After a false start a decade or so ago, Toyota’s largest is now full-size, full-power, full-strength, and full-capability. It bows to no one.”
Large Heavy-Duty Pickup Truck - Ford F-Series Super Duty: “The various F-250 and F-350 heavy-duty pickups don’t just talk the ‘Ford Tough’ talk, but clearly walk the walk as well. These are big, massively strong, powerful and resilient trucks. They are likely to still be on the road performing their outsized tasks 10, 20, 30, maybe even 50 years from now. Volcanoes won’t singe them, earthquakes won’t crush them, floods won’t sink them, and tons of gravel won’t even bend them. No wonder they satisfy as they do.”
Large 4-Door Pickup/SUT - Cadillac Escalade EXT: “EXT is a most remarkable vehicle that addresses the widest possible variety of roles and appears either intentionally or unintentionally successful at all of them. EXT is truly a vehicle for all seasons. Imagine its being a pickup. No, make that an SUV. Or maybe a little of both. Either way, some sort of utility vehicle. Now add a major dose of out-and-out luxury, with every conceivable creature comfort known to man. Does that still make it a utility vehicle? Not sure anymore. Will it haul the big and heavy stuff? Sure. But does anyone care? Well, maybe not. Is it the most recognizable and desirable vehicle out there? Well, along with H2, decidedly yes. So, given all of this, EXT is either the most versatile vehicle on the road or the one for which its versatility is least needed and appreciated. See, I told you it was a vehicle for all seasons, or at least one of the most remarkable image coups anywhere. And let’s not forget that under the skin, EXT’s GMT800 platform is an undisputed winner, setting new SUV standards in ride, handling, comfort, comportment and refinement.”
“Enigmas notwithstanding, EXT is emerging as an immensely satisfying vehicle. It scores as the highest-ranking truck in this year’s VSS study. With a score of 758, it trails only the godlike LS 430 among all vehicles in the market. Whatever its formula – or combination of formulas – might be, it clearly is the right vehicle for its time and place. Well done, Cadillac!”
Compact Pickup Truck - Toyota Tacoma: “Tacoma’s secret? How about many secrets? Take, for example, its spotless build quality and seamless refinement; its top-notch I4 and V6 engines, its comprehensively proven and completely intuitive ergonomics. Notice that even in comparatively down-spec trim, it offers every conceivable feature even the most demanding consumer could want; each of course operating exactly as it should. Everything on Tacoma works so well. A final reassurance is the legion of owners with 300,000 miles or more on their pickups, all ready for the next 300,000. Ever see a Tacoma broken down at the side of the road? Didn’t think so!”
Compact 4-Door Pickup/SUT - Ford Explorer Sport Trac: “As one of the first compact 4-door pickups on the market, Sport Trac remains among the most clever as a result of its brilliant positioning. Ford could have just as easily called the model a Ranger Crew Cab. As such, the vehicle would have been just another pickup with an extra couple of doors. But instead, Ford took the bold step of calling the vehicle ‘Explorer’, making it cross the line into the far more refined (and profitable) realm of SUVs. Fantastic move! The resulting vehicle may be an excellent pickup in and of itself, but more importantly carries the imagery and cachet of an SUV with all of the good things those imply. Suddenly, this isn’t just a vehicle for a bunch of hardhats, but one fully capable of standing tall at the schoolyard, at the theater, even at the symphony. Seems owners agree. They have something more than a mere pickup, and find that extra edge highly satisfying.”
Luxury Sport Utility - Lincoln Navigator: “Navigator’s subtle changes from a year or so ago may not be perceived by the outside observer, but are clearly appreciated by the owner base. So much so that Navigator regains a top spot it lost in 2002 to Escalade. One look at the substantially upgraded Navigator interior tells most – if not all – the story. It’s one fabulous place to be!”
Large Sport Utility - Ford Excursion: "As a three-peat winner, Excursion may be the biggest of the big, but it's obviously meeting its owners' very specific requirements. If you have a lot to carry and need to tow an Airstream, good size boat or two-horse trailer, there's simply nothing like it. While Ford may not have a specific Excursion replacement in mind, let’s not count it out yet. For those with the need, Excursion continues to satisfy to a tee.”
Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility - GMC Envoy: “The GMT360 family of mid-size SUVs launched a year or two ago has been quietly making a strong name for itself in the market, and satisfying consumers in the process. Success stems from a variety of factors. First, the GMT360s in general, and Envoy in particular, are beautiful SUVs with all the right lines and cues. Second, those needing only two rows of seats can get the short-wheelbase model that is perfectly sized and balanced for the task at hand. In turn, audiences needing three rows can get the long-wheelbase model, offering real back-row seating space, support and comfort. Envoy is available with one of the best and most powerful 6-cylinder engines anywhere; those needing/wanting more power can opt for a great V8. Finally, Envoy is a quality piece that has no evident shortcuts anywhere. It not only looks refined, solid and strong, it is refined, solid and strong!”
Standard Mid-Size Sport Utility - Kia Sorento: “We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Watch out for the Koreans! The Hyundai-Kia combine seems to have mid-size SUVs particularly well dialed-in, having satisfied best in 2001 and 2002 with Santa Fe, and now in 2003 with Sorento. We’ve been commenting for some time on the need for all of us to recalibrate our thoughts regarding Korean design, execution and quality. Widely acclaimed 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranties, combined with 10-year powertain warranties, underscore Korean confidence in the product and commitment to the long haul.”
“Sorento itself deserves specific mention. This is a really beautiful vehicle, exceptionally well laid out, designed and equipped. It has a strong and confident presence. It also backs up its brawn with a full ladder chassis, RWD/AWD powertrain, and tangible off-road capability. The Hyundai organization in general, and Kia in particular, are to be commended for keeping Sorento separate and unique from Santa Fe. This way, each vehicle is allowed to pursue its own audience with its own distinct product attributes. The separate-platform approach costs more, but expands horizons for both Santa Fe and Sorento exponentially. No wonder Santa Fe sales keep increasing, and Sorento has been sold-out since launch.”
Compact Sport Utility - Honda CR-V: “CR-V’s class win should not come as a surprise to anyone. After all, it’s been the one to beat in its competitive set since its highly successful first-generation launch in 1996. CR-V is new, second-generation form as of 2002, and it’s clear Honda is delivering what consumers want. The second-generation model is both roomier and more powerful, improving on a formula that was already in itself pretty close to ‘perfect’.”
Minivan - Honda Odyssey: “A young family in our neighborhood with two pre-teen boys bought a new Odyssey a few weeks ago. They didn’t shop anything else. They didn’t need to. They’d heard from many different sources Odyssey was the best minivan around, liked what they saw in the one trip they made to the dealership, and haven’t looked back since. Something tells me their story is fairly typical.”
“Odyssey is not the least expensive minivan in the market, but remains highly price-competitive in spite of its obvious product attributes and advantages. Odyssey is clever by design, not by gimmickry or add-ons. Odyssey does not overwhelm with features, but sweats the details on every feature it has to the point of getting everything just right. Odyssey is attractive, powerful and fast. Coupled with typically-Honda refinement, durability and reliability, who could ask for more?”
Special Achievement Award - Nissan Murano: “It’s particularly gratifying to acknowledge and credit Nissan with a job exceptionally well done on Murano. Here’s a vehicle that breaks new ground in proportions, layout and overall appearance. It’s roomy. It’s comfortable. It’s easy to get in and out of. It drives as well as – if not better – than the Maxima from which it stems. It sort of looks like an SUV, but does not drive like one. When push comes to shove, it’s a car. A really phenomenal passenger car. In fact, to the extent all passenger cars are going this direction, we all have a whole lot to look forward to.”
“One item intrinsic to Murano that deserves particular mention is the exterior/interior color and trim program. Sure, some of the colors are fairly common and prosaic. Then there are others, such as the exterior bricks and browns mated to the interior bricks that are notably courageous, ground-breaking and effective. The brick interior cloth is novel, but the brick interior leather is a real winner. Imagine, these interiors are mated with dove grey carpet!. Remarkable but true, everything really works. Beautiful, compelling, timely and memorable too!”
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