Honda tops satisfaction survey

Now in its fourth year, the study, which is conducted in association with the New Zealand Automobile Association, is based on interviews with 4061 new-vehicle owners and 11,653 owners of used vehicles. Overall satisfaction is based on owner experiences in four factors: vehicle quality and reliability; vehicle appeal (which measures satisfaction with the vehicle’s design, style, performance and comfort); service; and ownership costs.

Honda ranks highest in ownership satisfaction in the new-vehicle segment with an index score of 799 on a 1000-point scale. Volkswagen, Mazda and Suzuki, respectively, follow Honda in the rankings.

As a result of its success in the study, Honda was awarded the 2009 AA Motoring Excellence Award for Customer Satisfaction.

Mercedes-Benz ranks highest in ownership satisfaction among buyers of used vehicles, followed by BMW, Toyota, Audi and Honda, respectively.

Overall satisfaction among used-vehicle owners in New Zealand has increased significantly to 730 index points in 2009-up from 712 in 2007.

The 2009 New Zealand Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study serves as a benchmark in measuring customer attitudes and expectations in the market. A total of 15,714 vehicle owners from among New Zealand Automobile Association members were surveyed online to evaluate their ownership experiences.