Detroit – Toyota Motor Corp. held on to its dominant position in J.D. Power and Associates’ annual vehicle-quality rankings, which were released Wednesday.
Toyota and Lexus, the automaker’s luxury brand, took the top spot in 11 of 19 categories in the survey, which was revamped to highlight design and layout problems that can irritate consumers as much as defects.
Porsche AG came in first in the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles. That compared with an industry average of 124 problems per 100 vehicles.
The study, in its 20th year, was revised to isolate consumers’ concerns about design flaws, as distinct from defects and malfunctions. The change in methodology makes year-to- year comparisons impossible.
But a parallel survey conducted using the old methodology found that as a whole, the industry improved 8 percent from 2005, said Joe Ivers, executive director of quality and customer-satisfaction research at J.D. Power.
Lexus came in second in the overall nameplate rankings, with 93 problems per 100 vehicles, while the Toyota brand was fourth with 106. The two brands scored particularly well on defects.
“They’re the closest thing to defect-free,” Ivers said of Toyota and Lexus.
On the other hand, Porsche’s top ranking had a lot to do with good design: It had the fewest design problems of any brand but was behind Lexus when it came to defects and malfunctions.
The design issues that tended to irk people most were those having to do with ergonomics and the integration of technology into a vehicle, Ivers said.
A prime example was BMW, which had an average of 142 problems per 100 vehicles. It ranked among the best for defects and malfunctions but took a beating from survey respondents in the design area. In particular, Ivers cited BMW’s iDrive system, through which many controls are operated by a single knob.
Bob Lutz, vice chairman for global product development at General Motors Corp., criticized “systems where you gather everything under one control and then you are asked to scroll through menu after menu trying to do things.”
BMW spokesman Dave Buchko defended iDrive, saying his customers expect cutting-edge technology.
“New stuff is new,” he said. “It takes a bit of time to gain some familiarity with it.”
But Ivers argued it is possible to integrate new technology in a way that doesn’t make a vehicle less user-friendly.
“Porsche has all the functions but none of the complaints,” he said.
In vehicle segments, Toyota had five winners, including the Corolla for compact car, the Camry for midsize car and the Sequoia for large sport utility vehicle. Lexus had six top vehicles.
Of the Big Three domestic automakers, General Motors made the strongest showing. Its vehicles won in two segments: large pickup (Chevrolet Silverado LD) and large car (Pontiac Grand Prix).
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