Dodge was followed by FCA’s Ram truck brand — which had a strong third-place showing in the latest IQS and topped the 2019 appeal rankings — GMC, Ford and Mini in the top five.
While performance-driven Dodge led the way, FCA’s Jeep finished last. Toyota — which has been updating the styling of key models such as the Camry, Corolla and RAV4, in addition to reviving the flashy Supra in recent years — placed second to last. Finishing just above them were Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Subaru and Buick.
Among premium brands, Porsche led the way for the second consecutive year. It was followed by Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW and Land Rover in the top five.
The average score for luxury brands was 861, compared with 838 for mass-market brands, and the gap between the two — 23 points — is the narrowest in the study’s history.
“The APEAL study measures an owner’s emotional attachment to their new vehicle and in what areas that vehicle may not be delivering on all of the positive experiences that were hoped for,” Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “Understanding this is just as valuable to automakers as knowing about quality issues and owner acceptance of new technologies. The goal for automakers is to delight customers on all these dimensions. Some are better than others at doing this.”
The Hyundai Motor Group had the most model-level awards with five (Genesis, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Veloster, Kia Stinger and Kia Telluride). BMW Group, which had the highest-scoring model in the study with the X6 crossover, and Nissan Motor Corp. had four apiece, while General Motors won awards for three models.
