Dodge tops J.D. Power study for excitement, emotional appeal

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' high-octane Dodge brand, known for its dedication to muscle cars, led mass marketers in a J.D. Power study measuring excitement and emotional attachment to new vehicles.

J.D. Power's Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, a complement to its Initial Quality Study released last month, measures attributes across 37 areas experienced by owners, "ranging from the sense of comfort and luxury they feel when climbing into the driver's seat to the feeling they get when they step on the accelerator," the company said. Scores are based on a 1,000-point scale.

Dodge is the first domestic brand to earn first-place honors in the appeal and quality studies in the same year. Hyundai is the only other mass-market brand to achieve the feat, while several luxury brands — Genesis, Lexus and Porsche — have done it.

Dodge was followed by FCA's Ram truck brand — which had a strong third-place showing in the latest IQS and topped the 2019 appeal rankings — GMC, Ford and Mini in the top five.

While performance-driven Dodge led the way, FCA's Jeep finished last. Toyota — which has been updating the styling of key models such as the Camry, Corolla and RAV4, in addition to reviving the flashy Supra in recent years — placed second to last. Finishing just above them were Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Subaru and Buick.

Among premium brands, Porsche led the way for the second consecutive year. It was followed by Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW and Land Rover in the top five.

The average score for luxury brands was 861, compared with 838 for mass-market brands, and the gap between the two — 23 points — is the narrowest in the study's history.

"The APEAL study measures an owner's emotional attachment to their new vehicle and in what areas that vehicle may not be delivering on all of the positive experiences that were hoped for," Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a statement. "Understanding this is just as valuable to automakers as knowing about quality issues and owner acceptance of new technologies. The goal for automakers is to delight customers on all these dimensions. Some are better than others at doing this."

The Hyundai Motor Group had the most model-level awards with five (Genesis, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Veloster, Kia Stinger and Kia Telluride). BMW Group, which had the highest-scoring model in the study with the X6 crossover, and Nissan Motor Corp. had four apiece, while General Motors won awards for three models.

FCA captured two wins, for the Dodge Challenger and Ram 1500, as did Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Jaguar Land Rover.

Tesla was profiled in the study for the first time but wasn't ranked because it doesn't grant J.D. Power permission to survey owners in 15 states where it is required. Tesla received a score of 896 based on results in 35 other states, J.D. Power said.

The 2020 U.S. study is based on responses from 87,282 owners of new 2020 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. It was conducted from February through May, J.D. Power said.