Survey calls these Ford, Jeep, Alfa Romeo vehicles most appealing in their segments

The Ford F-Series Super Duty, Jeep Wagoneer and Alfa Romeo Giulia were the most appealing vehicles in their segments, according to the results of a closely watched annual auto industry survey released Thursday.

The model wins from two members of the Detroit Three — Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis — came in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, which “examines new-vehicle owners’ assessments of their experiences with their new vehicle after 90 days of ownership” in areas including design, performance, safety, usability, comfort and perceived quality.

Officials at the two automakers cheered the results in separate news releases.

“There’s no better recognition than one that comes from the people using the truck every day,” said Andrew Kernahan, Super Duty chief program engineer, of the vehicle’s win for large heavy-duty pickup.

Bill Kendell, senior vice president of North America customer experience at Stellantis, noted that “if you consider the broad range of vehicles that contributed to these results, it’s clear that creativity is baked into our existence as a company.” The Wagoneer won for most appealing large SUV, and Giulia won for compact premium car.

At the brand level, Porsche took the highest spot, followed by Jaguar and Land Rover, among premium brands and Mini, followed by Ram and Kia, was highest among mass-market brands, according to a J.D. Power release.

Hyundai had the most model-level awards with seven, followed by BMW (four) and Toyota (three).

The survey results were based on responses between July 2023 and May 2024 from 99,144 owners of new 2024 model year vehicles.

The survey provides insight not just on vehicles but on broader issues as well, showing, for instance, that overall satisfaction is up and satisfaction with non-Tesla electric vehicles is “at an all-time high” and is actually beating “perennial winner” Tesla, the J.D. Power release said.

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In-vehicle infotainment systems, however, weren't winners in the survey. Satisfaction was higher among owners who use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, the release said, noting that customers prefer the “simplistic usability” of their phones.

“Traditional manufacturers have listened to the voice of the customer,” Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, said in the release. “They’re launching enhanced vehicles that are more in line with what customers want, including improved interior storage and higher quality materials, as well as ensuring features have ease of use."

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Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.