J.D. Power: The Best New Cars

Quality is in the upswing for carmakers these days, according to an annual report from the market researcher.

Automakers are making huge strides in making better cars, according to the latest report from market researcher J.D. Power and Associates.

The researcher's annual "Initial Quality Study" looks at both "defects and malfunctions" as well as "quality of design." For this report, vehicle owners are surveyed at 90 days of ownership.

Three-fourths of brands scored better in 2008 than in last year's study. Eighty-six percent of that gain was due to defect reduction.

But "quality of design," which tracks problems that are designed into a car rather than the result of a manufacturing glitch, hasn't seen much improvement. Hard-to-use audio and entertainment controls are a big complaint, the company said.

Initial quality surveys have proven to be good at determining long-term durability of vehicles, according to J.D. Power.

Overall Brand Rankings

Luxury brand Porsche ranked top overall. Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan, ranked second, and Toyota's Lexus luxury division ranked third.

Mercedes-Benz, which ranked 25th in the survey just two years ago, ranked fourth overall this year, followed by Toyota's mainstream Toyota brand.

Ford's style-oriented Mercury brand was the top-ranked U.S. brand, coming in sixth overall.

Four General Motors brands — Cadillac, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Buick — scored above average, a feat not managed by any GM brands last year.

2008 Porsche Cayman

"I think the culture in the company has completely changed," said Jamie Hrescko, GM's vice-president for quality. Those four brands account for 82 percent of GM's sales volume, he said.

All three of Chrysler's brands — Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — scored well below average. Jeep had the worst score of any overall brand.

The results do not reflect recent changes the company has implimented in its vehicles, Chrysler spokesman Ed Saenz wrote in an e-mail.

"The leadership at Chrysler is confident they will see significant improvement in both perceived quality and the customer dissatisfaction associated with the 'design' portion of IQS in the next survey," he wrote.

Category: Sub-Compact

1st place: Honda Fit

2nd place: Kia Rio

3rd place: Hyunda Accent

Subcompacts like the Rio, Accent and Fit are in one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. car market. The Fit earned top scores for the mechanical quality of its body, interior and features. At the same time, it rated poorly on the design of its body and interior.

Category: Compact

1st place: Honda Civic

2nd place: Toyota Prius

3rd place: Hyundai Elantra Sedan

The Civic rated highly in most areas. It got an average score for powertrain design quality and features and accessory design.

Category: Compact Sporty Car

1st place: Mazda MX-5 Miata

2nd place: Subaru Impreza

3rd place: Pontiac Solstice

Despite being the top-ranked sports car and scoring highly in most areas — including overall quality — the Miata got low scores for powertrain mechanical quality, as well as body and interior design.

Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class

Category: Compact Premium Sporty

1st place: Mercedes CLK-class

2nd place: Porsche Cayman

3rd place: Volvo C70

The CLK is available as a convertible or coupe. It ranked highly in all areas except for feature and accessory design.

Category: Entry Premium

1st place: Infiniti EX-series

2nd place: Acura TSX

3rd place: Volvo S40

The Acura TSX and Volvo S40 are cars, but the winner in this category, the Infiniti EX35, is a crossover SUV. It earned top scores in all areas. At worst, it was rated as average for the mechanical quality of its body, interior and features.

Category: Midsize Premium

1st place: Infiniti M, Mercedes E-class

2nd place: Audi A6

3rd place: Lexus ES 350

The Infiniti M-series and Mercedes-Benz E-class tied for the best Initial Quality score in this segment. The only low marks earned by the M-series were for the mechanical quality of its interior and body. The E-class earned average scores for the mechanical quality of its features. Both cars earned above average scores in all other areas.

Category: Large Premium

1st place: Lexus LS

2nd place: Mercedes-Benz S-class

3rd place: Cadillac DTS

The LS series is Lexus's top-of-the-line model. It includes the $105,000 hybrid Lexus LS600h. The LS earned above-average scores in all areas and a final score that was the among the best of any car.

Chevrolet Malibu

Category: Midsize Car

1st place: Chevrolet Malibu

2nd place: Mitsubishi Galant

3rd place: Ford Fusion

The redesigned Malibu has been a rare bright spot for General Motors, gaining both sales and critical success. The Malibu scored highly in all areas except the design quality of its exterior and interior. This is a score based not on appearance, but on how many problems owners had in using the car because of the way it was designed.

Category: Large Car

1st place: Pontiac Grand Prix

2nd place: Mercury Sable

3rd place: Mercury Grand Marquis

The Grand Prix is a large front-wheel-drive sedan. It earned high marks in all areas except body and interior design which owners rated as average.

Category: Compact SUV

1st place: Honda CR-V

2nd place: Chrysler PT Cruiser

3rd place: Ford Escape

Sales are growing for compact crossover SUVs, like the CR-V, PT Cruiser and Escape, even as sales decline for most other vehicle types. The CR-V earned above-average marks in all areas.

Dodge Durango

Category: Midsize SUV

1st place: Dodge Durango

2nd place: Hyundai Santa Fe

3rd place: Toyota Highlander

Dodge and its sister-brands, Chrysler and Jeep, have not done well in J.D. Power's Initial Quality standings. All three rank well below average compared to other brands. But the Durango is a stand-out in its category. It did receive low marks for the mechanical quality of its features and accessories, however, and it earned average scores for mechanical quality.

Category: Full-Size SUV

1st place: Toyota Sequoia

2nd place: Chevrolet Tahoe

3rd place: GMC Yukon

Redesigned for 2008, the Sequoia is now a genuine full-size competitor to the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition. The Sequoia earned top scores in all areas.

Category: Midsize Premium SUV

1st place: Lexus RX

2nd place: Lexus GX470

3rd place: Porsche Cayenne

The Lexus RX shares much of its engineering with the Toyota Highlander SUV. The RX earned top scores, except in design and mechanical quality of its exterior and interior. In those areas, it earned average scores.

Category: Large Premium SUV

1st place: Lincoln Navigator

2nd place: Infiniti QX56

3rd place: Cadillac Escalade

The Lincoln Navigator is based on the Ford Expedition SUV, and like the Expedition, it's available in an extra-large extended version. The Navigator earned above-average scores in all areas rated by J.D. Power.

Chevrolet Silverado

Category: Large Pickup

1st place: Chevrolet Silverado

2nd place: Toyota Tundra

3rd place: Chevrolet Avalanche

The Silverado is the second-best selling truck in America, after the Ford F-150. It earned above-average scores in all areas except for the design of its body, interior, features and accessories. There the Silverado earned average scores.

Category: Midsize Pickup

1st place: Dodge Dakota

2nd place: Ford Ranger

3rd place: Toyota Tacoma

The Dakota earned average scores for the design and mechanical quality of its body and interior and above-average scores in all other areas.

Category: Van

1st place: Ford E-series

2nd place: Nissan Quest

3rd place: Chevrolet Express

The E-series earned a below-average score for powertrain quality and the mechanical quality of its body and interior.