Genesis beats out Porsche as most appealing brand, Power says

Genesis, for the first time, topped J.D. Power's annual study of new-vehicle appeal, nudging past Porsche, while Mitsubishi, Dodge, Jeep, GMC and Toyota posted the biggest improvements. Chevrolet was the top-ranked nonluxury brand.

Results of J.D. Power's 2018 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study were released Wednesday and were again dominated by luxury brands. Genesis and Porsche were followed by BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus.

The study measures vehicle owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement with a new vehicle across 77 features and ultimately helps automakers re-evaluate the design or redesign of cars and light trucks. Brands are scored on a 1,000-point scale.

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Co.'s newly independent luxury arm, ranked highest in overall appeal with a score that jumped 15 points to 884. It's the second year Genesis was ranked as a stand-alone brand.

The luxury brand, which has marketed just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, also topped J.D. Power's initial quality rankings for the first time this year, with 68 problems reported per 100 vehicles.

High quality and fewer reported problems on 2018 models have contributed to much of Genesis' appeal with consumers this year, according to Dave Sargent, vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power. The brand's success can also be attributed to its small product lineup, Sargent said.

Porsche's score fell one point to 883 compared with a year ago, while BMW's score rose eight points to 863.

Other notable gains came from Lincoln (861), with a 12-point increase. The Lincoln Navigator, which has been redesigned for 2018, received the highest score -- 915 -- of any model surveyed.

Average score rises

The six brands ranked at the bottom this year were Mitsubishi (783), Mazda (798), Jeep (799), Subaru (804), Nissan (806) and Hyundai (806). Mitsubishi was also the most improved brand, with a score that increased 33 points from 750 a year ago.

Dodge was the second-most improved brand, rising 29 points to 824.

Jeep's score rose 26 points to 799, GMC saw an 18-point gain to 826, and Toyota saw a 17-point jump to 809.

Jaguar posted the biggest decline, with a score of 827, down 11 points.

J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Automotive Performance Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study

Nameplate index ranking (based on a 1,000 point scale)

Genesis		884
Porsche		883
BMW		863
Lincoln		861
Mercedes-Benz		858
Audi		853
Volvo		850
Cadillac		848
Land Rover		845
Lexus		842
Infiniti		841
Jaguar		827
Chevrolet		826
GMC		826
Ram		825
Dodge		824
Ford		824
Mini		823
Volkswagen		823
Chrysler		822
Acura		821
Industry Average		820
Honda		818
Kia		816
Buick		812
Toyota		809
Hyundai		806
Nissan		806
Subaru		804
Jeep		799
Mazda		798
Mitsubishi		783
Luxury Average		851
Mass Market Average		814

Sargent said the decline in Jaguar's score is related to the brand's lack of new and designed vehicles this year.

"Jaguar appeal is very driven by product life cycle," Sargent said. "As Jag brings new vehicles to market, its score will go up."

Overall, the average industry score improved 10 points to 820 from 810 a year ago, with 23 of 31 brands evaluated posting gains over 2017. The average score of mass-market brands rose to 814, a 10-point rise. The average score among luxury brands rose six points to 851.

Power said consumers found all of the major features and vehicle systems tracked by the research company more satisfying this year. Most notable among the features are driving dynamics, which rose 12 points; visibility and safety, up 11 points; engines and transmissions, up 10 points; audio, communication, entertainment and navigation systems, which rose 10 points; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, which saw an increase of 10 points.

"The quality overall for the industry has improved fairly significantly over the last few years," Sargent said. "But more than that, a lot of it is driven by manufacturers adding content and features to the vehicle ... that consumers like ... like big navigation screens."

Manufacturers are also redesigning and improving displays, screens and infotainment systems as programs such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto become more popular and compete more directly with factory-installed equipment. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were also recently found to be less distracting entertainment systems than many automakers' built-in systems, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found.

Ford Motor Co. led the way with four model-level awards for the Expedition, F-150, Mustang and Lincoln Continental. General Motors, Volkswagen Group and BMW Group followed with three model-level awards each.

Study information

The study is based on responses from nearly 68,000 buyers and lessees of new 2018 vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership, and ultimately found manufacturers are getting better at redesigning vehicles, says Sargent. Responses to the study were gathered from November through February.

The study has been published 23 consecutive years and provides automakers information on why certain vehicle features are more attractive and appealing to consumers than others. Power said Fiat was included in the study but wasn't ranked because of a small sample size.