How do you decide just what is the best car on the market? If that question was easily answered our roads would be full of one model, and everybody else would be out of business.
But if dependability is your yardstick, it looks like Toyota’s premier Lexus brand would have to be the one. Lexus grabbed the top spot in the latest JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study in the US — a position it has held for nine consecutive years.
The 2003 Vehicle Dependability Study, which measures problems reported by original owners of 2000 model-year vehicles at three years of ownership, is based on responses from more than 55,000 original owners of 2000 model-year cars and light trucks.
The study covers 147 specific problem symptoms grouped into nine major vehicle systems. For the first time, the study reviews models at three years of ownership instead of the historical four- to five-year period in order to better support manufacturer product improvement efforts in next-generation replacement models.
Toyota had nine models with top segment rankings, followed by Ford and General Motors with three each, and Honda and Porsche with one each. Mercedes-Benz finished below the industry average for the second consecutive year.
“The Mercedes E-Class and M-Class have had more than their fair share of complaints,” said Power’s Joe Ivers.
BMW and Porsche scored even worse than Mercedes.
Kia scored last in the survey at a whopping 509 problems per 100 cars.