Japanese vehicles continue their domination over domestic
and European brands in Consumer Reports' Annual Car Owner Satisfaction Survey.
Of the 39 car models that made Consumer Reports' latest Most Satisfying car
list, 18 chose Japanese nameplates with 10 of those built by Toyota.
For the fourth straight year, the Toyota Prius hybrid was
identified by respondents as the most satisfying of any vehicle, with 92
percent of Prius owners indicating they would definitely buy one again.
Following closely, were the BMW 335i coupe/convertible and Porsche Boxster,
which drew scores of 91 and 90 respectively.
European models accounted for 12 cars on the list--a
slight increase from last year. Domestic models remained steady at seven, and
for the first time, two South Korean models, the Hyundai Azera (83) and Hyundai
Santa Fe (80), made Consumer Reports' Most Satisfying car list.
For the first time in five years, domestic models have
gained ground in the family car category, which has been consistently dominated
by Japanese nameplates. The Ford Fusion V6 with all-wheel-drive and Saturn Aura
were identified by respondents as two of the top four most satisfying family
cars behind the Toyota Prius and Toyota Camry Hybrid. The inclusion of the
Lincoln MKZ AWD was also a five-year first for a domestic model to be found
among the most satisfying Luxury/Upscale cars.
"These latest results suggest that domestic carmakers
are getting better at capturing what people want in the car they drive every
day," said Rik Paul, automotive editor for Consumer Reports.
Individual owner satisfaction scores for the vehicles on
Consumer Reports' Most and Least Satisfying car lists are published in the
Consumer Reports January issue, which went on sale December 4, 2007. The
complete report is also available at www.ConsumerReports.org.