Two Audi and two Volkswagen models rank highest in satisfying owners, according to the JD Power and Associates/CAR Magazine 2005 South Africa customer satisfaction survey.
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The four awards – the most received by any manufacturer in the study – were for the Audi A3, Audi A4, Volkswagen Citi Golf (the ‘Mark One’ model still in production in South Africa) and the Volkswagen Touran.
In addition to the Volkswagen-Audi models, General Motors and Mitsubishi models each received two awards while BMW, Ford, Honda and Subaru models each received a single award.
Although the cost of ownership factor score improved significantly in 2005, it remained the lowest rated of the four CSI factors at the industry level. Contributing to the low cost-of-ownership scores were poor ratings for insurance costs, cost of service/repair and fuel consumption.
At the brand level, Subaru led the South African market in CSI by 16 index points over second-ranked BMW. Rounding out the top five nameplates were Audi, Honda and Volvo, respectively.
To reach the pole position, Subaru improved by 50 index points in 2005, more than any other nameplate. Other nameplates improving significantly in 2005 included Nissan (+32 index points), Fiat and Honda (each +27 index points) and Kia and Mazda (each +24 index points). Subaru received the highest ratings in two of the four CSI factors: vehicle quality/reliability and service satisfaction. BMW led in vehicle appeal, while Audi excelled in ownership costs.
