Jaguar is most satisfying

JAGUAR has topped JD Power’s sought-after sales satisfaction survey in the US for the second year running, while its sister brand Land Rover scored an above-average top-five ranking.

The premium British passenger brand out-paced Cadillac, which was the only other car-maker to score a five-star ‘Power Circle rating’, while four-star performers Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover were the only other luxury brands to place above the luxury segment average.

According to respected US survey group JD Power, out of a total of 1000 points available in the areas of dealership facility, salesperson, paperwork/finance process, delivery process and vehicle price, Jaguar scored 898 points.

While it was particularly commended for its friendly dealers and efficient paperwork, Jaguar topped GM’s luxury marque by just five points, with Toyota’s luxury division and Mercedes-Benz tying for third place 16 points adrift.

Land Rover (872 points) was well clear of the luxury brand average of 864 points, but falling short were Lincoln (863), Porsche and BMW (861), Saab (857), Honda’s Acura brand (856), Nissan’s Infiniti (845), Volvo (842) and, surprisingly, Audi (28).

Ford’s Mercury brand topped the list of mainstream marques 867 points and was the only brand to score more than the luxury brand average.

Behind it was Daimler’s mini-car brand Smart (865) and a trio of GM brands in Buick and the discontinued Pontiac (864) and Chevrolet (863), rounding out the top five.

Mini was next on 862, ahead of more GM brands in Saturn (858), Hummer (856) and GMC (853), while Ford (847) managed a lowly 10th place.

Also ahead of the mainstream brand average were Subaru (834) and Suzuki (832), but below-average performers were Honda (830), Volkswagen (828), Scion (826), Toyota and Kia (823), Chrysler (822), Hyundai (819), Nissan (815), Mazda (809), Dodge and Jeep (805).

Mitsubishi was well behind the rest in last place with only 778 points.

The annual sales satisfaction index study by JD Power, one of the most influential US market research groups, respected is a comprehensive analysis of new-vehicle purchase experiences based on responses from more than 48,000 owners and lessees of new vehicles registered in the US during May and June 2009.