Porsche ranks highest in 2016 J.D. Power APEAL study

For the 12th straight year, German carmaker Porsche ranked highest in the J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) study in the US. 

The J.D. Power APEAL takes into account the level of excitement and satisfaction felt by car buyers during their first 90 days of ownership.

From February to May this year, J.D. Power surveyed more than 80,000 new car owners and assessed their level of product satisfaction using 77 attributes. These include occupant comfort, navigation/infotainment ease of use, performance, fuel economy, and safety features like blind-spot monitoring and low-speed collision avoidance. The car owners’ responses based on these attributes are then analyzed and combined into an index that’s measured on a 1,000-point scale.

With that in mind, Porsche has once again dominated this year with a score of 877 points. BMW came in 2nd with 859 points while Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz both took 3rd with 852 points. Meanwhile, Land Rover, Lexus, and Lincoln were on a 3-way tie in 4th with 843 points each. In 5th place was Audi with 842 points. As for the non-premium brands, Volkswagen leads with a score of 809 points. They’re followed by MINI and Kia with 808 and 807 points, respectively. Ford and Ram both have 803 points, while GMC scored 802 points.

The study also ranked models according to their automotive segments. For this, Porsche’s Boxster, Macan, and 911 took high ranks in their respective segments. General Motors (GM), on the other hand, landed its Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Sonic, and Tahoe at the top of their segments as well. Lastly, Hyundai and Kia both had their models bagging top segment rankings. These include the Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Optima, Sorento, and Soul.