GMC, Hyundai, Ram tie for non-luxury satisfaction award; Genesis takes luxury crown

While new-vehicle owners overwhelmingly favor SUVs, when it comes to the most satisfying popular, non-luxury brand, drivers seems to be more divided in 2018.

Following a win from the Korean brand Kia in 2016, followed by a 2017 win from GMC, this year, the American brand has made it on the list again in a three-way tie with both Hyundai and Ram brands.

And on the luxury side, upon receiving the highest brand satisfaction score in VSA history, the Genesis brand is this year’s top premium brand.

Along with the most satisfying luxury brand, Genesis' G90 model also took home the VSA for the top luxury car for the second year in a row.

"In just two years, Genesis has reached a level of owner satisfaction unattained by more established luxury brands," AutoPacific president George Peterson said in a news release.

The Chevrolet Traverse was recognized as the most satisfying vehicle overall.

AutoPacific’s 22nd annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSAs), which are designed to determine the most satisfying vehicles available in the market, were announced last week.

The VSAs are based on survey responses for vehicle owners that stem from questions concerning how satisfied a car owner is with their new vehicle choice. The company said that it connected with more than 58,000 vehicle owners.

"VSAs provide consumers with insight into which vehicles are giving owners a satisfying ownership experience," said Peterson.

Using 40 different attributes, the VSA program is designed to objectively measure owner satisfaction based on feedback relating to vehicles aspects such as seating comfort interior quality and driving performance.

“AutoPacific VSAs are unique in their inclusion of importance in the calculations,” Peterson said. “Not only do we measure owner satisfaction, but we also measure how important each attribute was to owners in their shopping process, resulting in a satisfaction score representative of demanding owners.”The Chevrolet Traverse was recognized as the most satisfying vehicle overall.  .

On the individual model level, Nissan claims the most amount of brand wins for the second year in a row.

“Not only does Nissan have the most brand wins for the second year in a row, the Maxima and Murano have been unbeatable since their redesigns were introduced to the market,” added Peterson.

Another bright spot was redesigned models. In fact,  five of the 26 winning vehicle models, such as the Chevrolet Traverse, were each redesigned for the 2018 model year.

The redesigned Toyota C-HR, Nissan LEAF, Honda Odyssey and Hyundai Accent, each outpaced the vehicles competing in their respective segments this year.

"The success of redesigned vehicles speaks to the efforts of product planners and designers who spend years researching and designing in the hopes of hitting the mark with consumers," said Peterson.

2018 Vehicle Satisfaction Award winners

Most Satisfying Vehicle Overall: Chevrolet Traverse
Highest Satisfaction Premium Brand: Genesis
Highest Satisfaction Popular Brand (3-way tie): GMC, Hyundai, Ram