Consumer Reports Dumps Acura Near Fiat in Owner Satisfaction Survey

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Consumer Reports’ Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey was released today, showcasing exactly how owners feel about the vehicular choices they’ve made this year.

While numerous manufacturers managed to keep owners living in automotive tranquility, some lacked the required magic. There was even one automaker that had a nearly 50/50 split of producing customers that, if given the chance, would travel back in time to stop themselves from engaging in the single purchase that created the dystopian hell they unknowingly forced themselves into.

It was Fiat.

Of course it was, and this news won’t shattering anyone’s reality. The automaker has consistently found itself near the bottom of every list we’ve come across this year. The Italian automaker did manage to keep all of its models out of the steaming mound of cars people most regretted buying, however — it happened to be one of very few FCA divisions eligible to make that claim.

According to responses on the over 300,000 vehicles involved in Consumer Reports’ Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey, Acura’s ILX was the least endearing, most regrettable purchase you could make. Dissatisfied owners faulted it for being a dressed-up and over-priced Honda Civic, complaining that it was too slow, had an unrefined ride, and boasted loads of road noise.

The Nissan Frontier was faulted for similar niggles in the truck segment, just at a more reasonable price point, while the Rogue was condemned for its absolutely terrible initial quality.

Everything else on the short list of big mistakes were courtesy of FCA. The Jeep Compass, Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart and Dodge Grand Caravan all took hits for similar reasons — uncomfortable seating, subpar powertrains, and low-quality interiors.

It wasn’t all misery and regret, however.

The survey uncovered that 91 percent of Tesla owners agreed that they would “definitely” purchase their specific vehicle again if they were forced to make the decision a second time. That placed the EV company at the top of customer satisfaction by a noticeable margin. Porsche was a full seven percentage points behind, followed by Audi, Subaru, and Toyota. The remaining brands mostly remained in the 70 to 75-percent range, ahead of a handful of poor performers.

Jeep, Acura, Infiniti, Nissan, and Fiat all averaged a sub 60-percent satisfaction score.

Of the 29 brands surveyed, Lincoln and Hyundai were the most improved from 2015. Consumer Reports had Lincoln moving from 21st to 12th place and Hyundai rising to 13th from 24th.

Meanwhile Ram, at 70 percent, dropped from 5th in the previous year’s survey to 17th this year. BMW fell from 6th to 14th and Volkswagen sank from 16th to 24th place, according to the magazine.

[Image: American Honda]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • OldManPants OldManPants on Dec 26, 2016

    Toyota has already sold more Avalons from Jan. through Nov. this year (43,029) than all the RL/RLXs sold since and including 2006 (39,782). Why is there no Honda Avalon, a flagship above the Accord but still with the revered H on the front?

    • See 1 previous
    • Mechaman Mechaman on Dec 28, 2016

      Maybe because they think it would be seen as just a bigger Accord?

  • Jacob Jacob on Dec 26, 2016

    Acura's long term strategy has been self-contradicting. Remember when they killed the RSX/Integra under the excuse of the need to move upmarket? Well, they killed the RSX but they never really took the rest of the brand upmarket. Remember the sad story of the generic-looking, widely unloved and unnoticed, under-powered, overpriced, vanilla soap bar shaped car known as the Acura RL? And in the last few year, they make a u-turn and bring us a new Acura ILX which was nothing but a Civic reski.

  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
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