Skoda comes out on top in JD Power ownership survey

The latest round of JD Power car buyer satisfaction surveys makes for interesting reason, especially for those who've recently bought a Skoda or a car from a premium German brand. Skoda it is which came out on top, after 13,000 UK-based drivers and owners rated that brand as having the least amount of reliability issues.

The JD Power system rates problems per 100 cars, or PP100 and Skoda's score of 77 PP100 puts it at the peak of the table, well ahead of the industry average of 114 PP100. Kia came second on 83 PP100, with Suzuki third on 86PP100 and Nissan fourth on 87PP100. Just one point and one place further back was Mercedes-Benz on 88PP100, tying for joint fifth with Toyota.

That’s both a surprise and a major boost to Mercedes, which suffered its share of reliability and warranty nightmares in the early 2000s, especially with the E-Class. If the JD Power survey is anything to go by, the German giant has now exorcised those problems.

Seat and Peugeot surprise

There were some very surprising results though. Volvo and Volkswagen finished close behind Toyota, which is perhaps more or less expected, but Peugeot and Seat managed to beat out Mazda, finishing on 95PP100 each, while Mazda suffered 105PP100.

Mini was as good as Mazda, with Ford not far behind on 111PP100 and Citroen rounding out the average on 114PP100.

As for those finishing below average, Renault came ahead of Honda, with 115PP100 versus 116PP100, and that will be a big surprise to both companies. Ordinarily, one would assume Honda to be far and away better than Renault when it comes to build quality. Is it an equally big surprise to see Fiat tying with Hyundai on 117PP100?

There's then a big jump to Land Rover on 152PP100, a poor performance from a company which has long been promising improved build quality, and its stablemate Jaguar is even farther behind on 173PP100, finishing behind Audi and, yes, Dacia.

Poor performance by Land Rover, Alfa and Jaguar

Right at the bottom of the table we find now-defunct Chevrolet on 288PP100, but what's more worrying for two big brands is that they're not very far in front of Chevrolet – BMW finished third bottom on 196PP100 and Alfa Romeo, on the cusp of a do-or-die relaunch, had 235PP100.

Now, we need to put this into some sort of perspective. We’re not dealing with en-masse engine failures or gearboxes falling off in the outside lane of the motorway. In fact, the majority of the problems (five of the top 11 apparently) relate to what JD Power refers to as ACEN, or Audio, Communication, Entertainment and Navigation. Which means most of the problems quoted are people not being able to tune their radios or hook up their phones to the Bluetooth.

“As we’ve seen in studies in the United States and other markets, owners want in-vehicle technology, and their expectations of advanced technology capabilities are growing,” said Dr. Axel Sprenger, senior director of European automotive operations at J.D. Power. “When they have a problem with the technology—and the definition of dependability is increasingly influenced by usability—vehicle owners are disappointed.” Between a third and two thirds of owners won’t even bother to visit their dealer or a garage to have these issues looked at.

However serious or un-serious these problems are though, that owner disappointment affects owner loyalty. The study finds that among those who report three or more problems, only 33 percent say they “definitely will” purchase the same brand next time, compared with 48 percent of owners who report no problems.