The authoritative American agency JDPower and Associates, which has been conducting independent monitoring of the automotive market for over thirty years, in June 2017, put on public display the next (31st) reliability rating of new "iron horses" (Initial Quality Study - IQS). officially offered in the vastness of North America.
The study was carried out from February to May 2017, and during this time 80 thousand owners of new cars that have been in operation for three months were interviewed. Based on the information collected, the Americans calculated the number of certain breakdowns for every 100 cars of a certain brand (PP100 - Problems per 100 Vehicles), and the fewer problems were identified, the higher the rating.
Overall, compared to 2016, the “average quality” indicator of new cars improved by 8%, and almost all car brands participating in the study showed a decrease in the number of malfunctions - 27 out of 33.
It is worth noting that, as before, most car owners most often complain about problems with "infotainment technologies" - such malfunctions are inherent in 23 out of 100 new "iron horses". However, there is progress in this area: for example, in almost all areas there is an improvement in the quality of work of certain systems, with the exception of the function of semi-autonomous driving and adaptive cruise - in this case, a failure was recorded.
For the second year in a row, the South Korean brand KIA was at the top of the rating - for every “hundred” of these cars there are 72 malfunctions (which is 11 points better than last year's result). "Silver" also went to the representative of the Country of Morning Freshness - the Genesis brand (premium division of Hyundai), which showed 77 breakdowns. Well, Porsche closed the “podium” with a result of 78PP100.
It is worth noting that Ford and Ram significantly improved their statistics compared to last year (102 and 114 defects, respectively) - they had 86 faults recorded for every 100 cars.
The last position in the rating was once again taken by the Italian brand Fiat - the average number of defects for each “hundred” of these cars is 163 units. The products of this automaker are steadily weaving in the rearguard, but at the same time, compared to last year, they still showed noticeable progress (then 216 malfunctions were identified). Jaguar (148PP100) is on the “second line from the end”, and Volvo (134PP100) is on the third.
It is noteworthy that two years ago British cars were among the leaders in the rating, taking third place on the podium, but then they sharply "went downhill".
The brands that showed the most rapid improvement in quality were MINI (with 33 faults per 100 cars), Ram (with 28 fewer failures) and Acura (19 fewer faults).
As for specific models (ie “the best in their segment”), the balance of power in the “Initial Quality Study” rating by J.D. Power for 2017 was distributed as follows:
- Subcompact car - Chevrolet stonic;
- Premium subcompact car - Bmw 2-series;
- Compact car - Kia forte;
- Premium compact car - Bmw 4-series;
- Compact sports car - MINI Cooper;
- Compact MPV - KIA Soul;
- Mid-size car - Toyota Camry;
- Mid-size sports car - Ford mustang;
- Premium mid-size car - Lexus gs;
- Premium mid-size sports car - Porsche 911;
- Full size car - Kia cadenza;
- Compact crossover - KIA Niro;
- Premium compact crossover - Mercedes-Benz GLA;
- Mid-size crossover - GMC Terrain;
- Mid-size premium crossover - Porsche macan;
- Mid-size SUV - Kia sorento;
- Premium mid-size SUV - Bmw x6;
- Full-size SUV - Ford Expedition;
- Full-size premium SUV - Infiniti QX80;
- Minivan - Chrysler pacifica;
- Mid-size pickup truck - Nissan frontier;
- Big pickup - Chevrolet Silverado LD;
- Heavy Duty Pickup - Chevrolet Silverado HD.
