Tesla owners are the most satisfied of all vehicle brand owners, according to a new Consumer Reports survey.
It’s the time of year for parties and if you stand around long enough, beverage and hors d’oeuvres in hand, talk will invariably turn to cars. Generally, this chatter centers on “what do you drive” and “how do you like it?”
Well, it would seem if someone at the party owns a Tesla, Porsche or Genesis, they’re going to fancy their vehicle the most, according to Consumer Reports’ 2018 Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey.
Oddly, none of those three brands were even ranked last year. The biggest surprise may be Chrysler, which ranked fourth, up four spots from last year. Its FCA siblings are often panned in quality and satisfaction studies, but Chrysler appears to be immune to those criticisms.
Audi dropped two spots on the annual survey to fifth, sharing an overall score of 76 with Mazda, Subaru and Toyota. The score is the average of scores in six categories the magazine uses to rate vehicles.
(New vehicle buyers less satisfied with their cars. Click Herefor the details.)
Porsche 911's popularity helped to propel it to second place on the chart.
Here’s the top 10 list of most satisfying vehicle brands and their scores:
- Tesla (90)
- Porsche (85)
- Genesis (81)
- Chrysler (78)
- Audi (76)
- Mazda (76)
- Subaru (76)
- Toyota (76)
- Honda (75)
- Lincoln (75)
Most of these vehicles could pin their high rankings on the performance of a single vehicle. A familiar theme is that cars that meet owner expectations consistently score well. Sports cars like the Porsche 911 and the Mazda MX-5 Miata are hits because they deliver the driving fun that their owners desired.
(Click Here for more about owners who ranked Porsche and Ford as “ideal” in a new study.)
However, a vehicle with a strong showing doesn’t guarantee a top spot. In a surprise showing, the revamped Honda Ridgeline outscored the compact pickup field by a wide margin. The Ridgeline and the Ford F-350 are also among the top 10 vehicles ranked by owner satisfaction scores.
That’s the first time in at least five years that any pickup truck has made it into the top 10. The Chevrolet Corvette also scored very highly, according to the magazine.
(Who has the market’s most APEAL-ing vehicles? Click Here to find out.)
The bottom five brands in the satisfaction study included: Acura (58), Nissan (58), Mitsubishi (58), Infiniti (60) and Cadillac (64). However, the biggest mover on the list was Hyundai, which dropped 11 spots to finished ranked 24th with a score of 67 this year.