Highest-Quality Cars

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These days car quality can be summed up in one sentence: It’s all good.

Across the entire auto industry quality has reached such a high level industry-wide that few, if any, “bad” new cars are for sale anymore. As a result, the subjective or intangible aspects of vehicles — the trust and loyalty a brand engenders, the pride of ownership, satisfaction and exhilaration a model gives — play a critical role in helping consumers choose one vehicle over another.

“Simply counting problems does not distinguish one vehicle from another the way it used to,” says Christopher Chaney, director of business development for Strategic Vision, in San Diego. “The industry as a whole is creating a greater product, so there is more parity between vehicles than ever before. We now distinguish quality based on the whole experience. Our total quality index is a complete measure.”

Volkswagen Jetta

In addition to counting the physical defects consumers report for each model, Strategic Vision uses surveys to measure how a vehicle touches an owner's emotions and impulses. All told, the company looks at 166 factors to assess the total quality of new vehicles.

Toyota and Ford Dominate

Beyond singling out superlative models, the 2008 total quality assessments show some significant new developments in the auto business. The primary finding to emerge from this year's data, says Chaney, is the rehabilitation of Detroit brands, especially Ford.

“A Ford and a Toyota are very close when it comes to total quality,” Chaney says. “The domestics are turning things around. It's been spoken about for the last few years. There's been strategy to that effect. Now we're seeing the delivery, based on what owners are telling us.”

Toyota, long viewed as a quality leader, has models topping five of the study’s 19 vehicle segments — the most of any manufacturer. These include the Yaris in the small-car class, the Scion xB in the wagon category, the Toyota 4Runner and Sequoia sport utility vehicles, and the Lexus RX 350 near-luxury SUV.

Ford also took the top spot in five vehicle segments, with the help of its Mercury and Volvo brands.

Ford Edge

The Mercury Sable won in the sedan category, the Ford Mustang Convertible in the convertible category, the Ford Edge in the crossover utility vehicle category and the F-250/350 heavy-duty in the pickup category.

Add Ford-owned Volvo to the mix, and the Detroit-based automaker picks up one more top spot: The Volvo C30 is first in total quality among “small specialty cars.” 

Asian Underdog

Like American automakers, Korean companies are also underdogs. But that too is changing.

Korean automaker Hyundai is still a relative newcomer to the American market, having started selling vehicles here in 1986. And it didn’t get off to a good start in terms of quality and reliability.

But in 2008, the Hyundai Santa Fe beat the popular Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 to rank highest in total quality among small SUVs — a position it also held in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

The Hyundai Elantra, a compact sedan, placed third in the small-car segment, behind the Honda Civic. The Hyundai Entourage finished third among minivans, beating the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.

“We think that the Santa Fe says a great deal about the expanding interest and acceptance of the entire brand,” says Christopher Hosford, vice president of corporate communications for Hyundai Motor America. “In the last six years, we've seen consideration double among new-car-purchase intenders as measured by Hall & Partners.” Hall & Partners is a brand research and consulting agency with headquarters in New York.

But rising brand clout hardly makes underdog car companies secure, Hosford says. In fact, the opposite is true: Intensifying competition makes greater improvements in quality all the more imperative. “We still have a lot of work to do,” he says. “One of our major marketing challenges is to continue to improve our brand image and reputation in this very tough market.”

Drivers Win

The fierce competition automakers face is a boon for car buyers, says Strategic Vision’s Chaney. “The public is going to win because this is creating more competition in the industry. Competition brings a better product,” he says.

European brands still command the highest collective scores in total quality. BMW emerged as the top brand in 2008. Go to the accompanying slideshow for the full list of highest-quality cars.

The overall corporate winner was Volkswagen, which encompasses both the Volkswagen and Audi lines. But no single Audi model led in any of the 19 vehicle categories identified by Strategic Vision.

The BMW and Volkswagen brands each placed one model as a total-quality winner. The BMW X5 topped the luxury SUV class; Volkswagen's Jetta reigned as the best medium-size car.

Make Mine a Hybrid

Another noteworthy trend emerging is the transition of hybrids from fringe cars embraced by conscientious consumers and environmentalists toward the mainstream.

“Up until this year, the primary reason for buying hybrid vehicles was more to make a statement about being environmentally concerned,” Chaney says. “People are now looking at hybrids for fuel economy. The reason is $4-per-gallon gas.”

That conclusion is buried deeper in the rankings. Hybrids do not top any of the 19 vehicle classes, but the Toyota Camry Hybrid finished fourth among medium-size cars, a respectable showing, Chaney says.

Hybrids currently command a $2,000 to $8,000 premium over comparable conventional models. But as more consumers start to seriously consider hybrids, Chaney expects manufacturers will make an effort to reduce the price premium. “There's going to be greater pressure on the industry to present hybrids on an equal price with other vehicles,” he says.

And once hybrid vehicles go more mainstream, they should rise in the total-quality rankings. “There's going to be new leaders in the industry, when you begin to see hybrids priced close to other segment competitors,” he says.

Erich Merkle, vice president of forecasting for automotive consultants IRN, in Grand Rapids, Mich., agrees that lower priced hybrid models will prove more popular than today's premium-priced versions.

But don't expect hybrid vehicles to ever be priced the same as conventionally powered vehicles, he says. The batteries and added technology hybrids require will keep prices above models without the extra gear.

The Fickle Factor

Merkle says popular demand for hybrids will remain closely linked to gas prices.

“Where's the price of fuel going to be six months or 12 months from now? The consumer has a pretty short memory,” he says. “If gas prices go back down to $3 per gallon, conserving fuel won't be very high on people's list anymore.”

But even if fuel prices lower and consumer interest slackens, that doesn't mean the trend toward mainstreaming hybrids will slow. The federal government’s higher fuel-economy standards assure that automakers will continue to push the technology, Merkle says.

“It's a pretty safe bet that by the end of 2020, when the real stringent corporate-average-fuel-economy requirements kick in, most vehicles will have some sort of a hybrid component,” he says.

The question of whether or not consumer sentiment will stay in sync with government requirements must wait to be answered by future surveys. In the meantime, go to the slideshow to see which vehicles have the greatest appeal to consumers right now.

Methodology

The research firm based its 2008 total quality awards on surveys of people who purchased 2008 models in September, October or November 2007, and who had at least 90 days of experience with their vehicle. A total of 20,655 car owners responded, making it a statistically large survey, Chaney says. Strategic Vision also weighted the responses, a statistical method that aims to give equal value to each reply.