Jaguar has retained its title as the leading automotive brand for ownership satisfaction in the UK, while two Skoda models have dominated at the top of the charts.
The JD Power and Associates 2013 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study sees Jaguar keep pole position in the annual ranking ahead of long-time leader Lexus for the second straight year.
The luxury British marque held off the resurgent Japanese manufacturer by nine points, scoring 827 out of 1000 versus 818 – as Jaguar slipped one point from the 2012 study and Lexus gained 17.
Honda (810) pipped Skoda (809) for third position on the back of a 13-point gain, although the Czech marque still had cause for celebration, with the Skoda Superb and Skoda Yeti the two highest-rated vehicles across the industry for owner satisfaction.
Mercedes-Benz retained fifth position on the back of a 10-point increase, while Land Rover was the bolter in the field, gaining 16 points and rising to sixth place overall, leapfrogging Audi, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo, among others.
Citroen and Seat were the only two brands to drag themselves up from lowly rankings to positions above the 776-point industry average.
Kia, Hyundai, Ford and Mazda continue to languish below average. Alfa Romeo bombed to second-last, down from 762 to 725, while Chevrolet returned an even more disappointing result, dropping from 713 to 691 to remain the clear loser in the study.
JD Power’s UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study examines customer satisfaction with their vehicle and dealer service based on evaluations of four key measures: vehicle appeal (including performance, design, comfort and features), ownership costs (including fuel consumption, insurance and cost of repair), service satisfaction, and vehicle quality and reliability.
The study found that vehicle owners’ perceived cost of ownership was the most significant driver of loyalty to both the brand and the dealer, with 63 per cent who gave full marks for ownership costs indicating that they would “definitely” purchase the same vehicle make again.
Unsurprisingly, there was also a correlation between overall satisfaction and vehicles that incurred the fewest and least severe problems, with seven of the makes repeated across both top 10s.
The study is based on 16,104 online evaluations completed by vehicle owners in the UK after an average of two years of ownership, fielded between December 2012 and February 2013.
