IRVINE, Calif. -

What cars most meet their owner’s expectations? According to the just-released 2012 Ideal Vehicle Awards, imports lead the pack.

AutoPacific and Autobytel announced the awards on Tuesday, and the overall winner was the Mercedes-Benz S Class.

By brand, Audi and MIini took the top spots as overall winners for premium and popular brands, respectively.

Within the indvidual segment honors, multiple award winners included Honda with five awards; General Motors with four awards; Chrysler with three awards; and Volkswagen with three awards.

Established in 2006, the Ideal Vehicle Awards recognize the cars that meet owners’ expectations about their automotive purchases. Based on what AutoPacific and Autobytel call the largest single-model-year survey of auto owners, the awards are meant to help consumers make informed purchases using a true peer-to-peer survey.

“The significance of the Ideal Vehicle Awards is that they identify the automotive manufacturers that are listening to their buyers when updating and developing their latest cars,” said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific.

“In addition to identifying segment winners, the IVAs also establish numerical Ideal Vehicle Ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market. With 38 percent of car buyers being positively influenced by owner-based awards like the IVAs, these awards can give car shoppers a good direction to go when searching for their next vehicle purchase.”

The survey included more than 75,000 vehicle owners across all major manufacturers who have owned their 2012 model-year vehicles for 90 days, then measures any changes the owners would make to their vehicle.

The Ideal Vehicle Awards recognize vehicles where owners wanted the least amount of change across 15 key attributes, including exterior styling; exterior size; passenger roominess; cargo space; driver’s seat comfort; driver’s seat visibility; info/entertainment technology; interior lighting; power and acceleration; ease of getting in and out; interior storage compartments; ride; handling; safety features; and tires and wheels.

Autobytel president and chief executive officer Jeffrey Coats noted, “The Ideal Vehicle Awards complement the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards we recently announced. We gladly provide car buyers with consumer-to-consumer points-of-view to assist them with their car buying choices. The Ideal Vehicle Awards offer shoppers a unique perspective based on current owners’ recommendations.

“We congratulate the manufacturers on their ongoing commitment to listening to their customer and providing the vehicles that come closest to their buyers’ desires,” he added.

The full list of Ideal Vehicle Award winners is as follows:

2012 Overall Winner: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Premium Brand, 2012 Model Year: Audi
Popular Brand, 2012 Model Year:  Mini

Passenger Cars

Premium Luxury Car: 2012 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Aspirational Luxury Car: 2012 Audi A4
Large Car: 2012 Dodge Charger
Luxury Midsize Car: 2012 Acura TSX
Premium Midsize Car: 2012 Volkswagen Passat
Midsize Car: 2012 Subaru Legacy
Premium Compact Car: 2012 MINI Cooper
Compact Car: 2012 Volkswagen Golf
Economy Car: 2012 Honda Fit
Sports Car: 2012 Chevrolet Corvette
Sporty Car: 2012 Dodge Challenger
Hybrid/EV Car: 2012 Nissan Leaf

Light Trucks

Large Light Duty Pickup: 2012 Ford F-150
Heavy Duty Pickup: 2012 GMC Sierra HD
Compact Pickup: 2012 GMC Canyon
Luxury SUV: 2012 Land Rover LR4
Large SUV: 2012 GMC Yukon XL
Midsize SUV: 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Premium Luxury Crossover SUV: 2012 Porsche Cayenne
Luxury Crossover SUV: 2012 Volvo XC70
Large Crossover SUV: 2012 Ford Flex
Premium Midsize Crossover SUV: 2012 Honda Pilot
Midsize Crossover SUV: 2012 Honda CR-V
Compact Crossover SUV: 2012 MINI Countryman
Minivan: 2012 Honda Odyssey
Hybrid/EV Truck: 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid