The annual Initial Quality Study (IQS) by JD Power gauges the quality of vehicles based on the number of faults reported by new car owners. Here are the key findings for the 2016 study:
1) Owners reported fewer faults compared to 2015 by 18%. The overall quality of both national and non-national brands combined improved by 18% to 69 PP100 (or 69 faults reported over 100 vehicles)
2) For non-national brands, reported faults have been reduced to 54 PP100, while national brands managed 83 PP100
3) National brands are closing the quality gap to non-national brands
4) Men reported more problems on their cars than women, as did more experienced drivers (over 10 years’ experience) compared to less experienced ones, and by owners with multiple passengers over single-occupant owners
5) Wind noise, air-con not being sufficiently cold and noisy brakes are most cited issues (in that order)
6) MPV owners reported most faults even though quality has improved in this segment (from 90 to 79 PP100)
7) Owners who experience no faults in their new cars are more likely (25%) to buy the same brand than those (13%) who reported faults (why, of course)
8) The Toyota Vios topped the entry midsize segment (48 PP100); the Toyota Avanza ranks highest in the MPV segment (52 PP100) for the eighth consecutive year. The Perodua Myvi came first in the compact segment (73 PP100), while the Mazda CX-5 has the crown in the SUV segment (41 PP100)
Note: that only 39 models from 12 brands were studied based on responses from 2,436 new car owners who purchased their vehicle between August 2015 and June 2016. Brands and models which were not ranked or covered under the study are assumed not to have met the required sample size.
(Source: J.D. Power; all charts and graphs in this story are also by J.D. Power)