AutoPacific announces 2016 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards

It’s not that new-vehicle owners can’t get no satisfaction. It’s just that for the first time in years, a non-American brand has earned the distinction of most satisfying popular, non-luxury brand among new-vehicle owners.

Korean manufacturer Kia claimed that honor in this year’s AutoPacific Vehicle Awards, which measures owner satisfaction with 50 attributes ranging from interior comfort and styling to fuel economy and performance. 

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of AutoPacific recognizing the most satisfying vehicles and providing consumers a way to streamline their search for the perfect vehicle,” AutoPacific president George Peterson said in a news release.  “VSAs look at the big picture, which includes owners’ experiences with their vehicle’s quality and safety, but also go deeper into the heart of the ownership experience.”

The most satisfying vehicle overall was the Cadillac Escalade, which also received this year’s President’s Award. This award is given only when the overall score tops the previous high score. The previous President’s Award winners were the 2015 Kia K900, 2014 Mercedes S-Class and the 2010 Hyundai Sonata. 

Tesla is the most satisfying premium brand for the second year in a row.

 “Kia has been coming on strong for years and has won many individual vehicle awards,” Peterson said, “but this year they dominated among popular, non-luxury, brands, with a total brand score that is 16 points higher than the nearest competitor, GMC.

“Tesla was new to the survey results in 2015 and won the top premium brand award by a considerable margin (23 points),” he continued. “They hold the top spot this year, though Cadillac has closed the gap considerably with the highly satisfying Escalade and increases in owner satisfaction across their lineup.”

This year also marks the first year that neither Ford Motor Co. nor Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has a winning vehicle.

“Over the years, Ford has consistently had high-scoring trucks and SUVs while Lincoln has had several luxury car winners,” according to Peterson. “Historically, FCA has not been as strong; however, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was on a 5 year winning streak and had that taken away by the Toyota 4Runner this year.”

Overall for 2016, General Motors received the most wins with seven, followed by Kia and Nissan each with four, Mercedes-Benz with three, and Hyundai and Toyota each with two wins. Volvo, Honda and Tesla each took home one win. 

Six all-new or redesigned vehicles top their segment

Of the 23 winning vehicles, six of had been redesigned for the 2016 model year, including the Kia Optima, Nissan Maxima, Chevrolet Camaro, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Lexus RX and Hyundai Tucson.

“Product planners hold their breath after the release of a new, or redesigned, vehicle, hoping that all their research, designing and planning has successful results,” said Peterson, who worked as a product planner prior to founding AutoPacific 30 years ago. “While six of the winning vehicles were redesigned for the 2016 model year, the Kia Optima and Chevrolet Camaro have greatly exceeded the scores of their nearest segment competitors.”

This year’s VSAs were based on survey responses from more than 65,000 owners of new 2015 and 2016 model year cars and light trucks.

2016 Vehicle Satisfaction Award winners

President’s Award (highest VSA score to date): Cadillac Escalade
Most Satisfying Vehicle Overall: Cadillac Escalade
Highest Satisfaction Premium Brand: Tesla
Highest Satisfaction Popular Brand: Kia

Passenger cars:

Luxury car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Aspirational luxury car: Volvo S60/V60

Light duty pickup: GMC Sierra 1500

Heavy duty pickup: GMC Sierra HD