With a new Kia, fewer things go wrong: study
But J.D. Power’s new Initial Quality numbers tell only part of the story
The results of J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study — a tool designed to measure “things gone wrong ” with a new car in the buyer’s first 90 days of ownership — are out. For the second year, Kia ranked highest, followed by Porsche, Hyundai, Toyota and BMW. Coming in last were Smart, Fiat and Volvo. While the results are telling, they do not always capture the whole story behind the numbers.
The study, now in its 30th year, measures the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles based on surveys sent to buyers of new vehicles. A lower score, according to J.D. Power, equals higher quality. This year, Kia scored best with 83, Porsche had 84, Hyundai 92, Toyota 93 and BMW 94. Chrysler and Jeep were the most improved brands, each reducing the number of problems found in 2015 by 28.
The study, however, is not a measure of long-term dependability. Nor does it identify all defects — only the early problems reported by owners. That could be a genuine fault in the vehicle’s assembly, such as a rattle under the hood or a broken latch, but it could also be related to the design of a specific component, such as the way a new and different type of automatic transmission behaves, or the way an infotainment screen responds.
Though the part might be performing exactly as engineered and intended, it can be reported as a problem if the user can’t figure it out or doesn’t like the way it operates. J.D. Power doesn’t put all “problems” into specific categories either, so a much maligned central control system, as Ford learned the hard way years ago with its MyFord Touch and voice-recognition system, can hurt the overall score — even if its vehicles were well made.
That’s not to say J.D. Power’s findings are not enlightening; it’s fascinating data, and interesting that Hyundai scored higher than Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Domestic brands saw lower problem levels than all their imported counterparts combined, making stale the argument that imports are better than domestics. Detroit’s Big Three scored a combined average of 103 problems per 100 vehicles. The industry average is 105.
J.D. Power says “expected reliability” was the No. 1 consideration when buying a new vehicle, cited by 49 per cent of owners.