1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Featured Consumer Reports: Top Owner Satisfaction List

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by hill, Dec 21, 2017.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,679
    8,072
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    Car Brands Ranked by Owner Satisfaction - Consumer Reports

    Surprisingly - Toyota owners generally seem less satisfied than in bygone years;
    2017-12-21 08.09.31.png

    Equally surprising, the #1 customer satisfaction rated company - besides being 100% Electric, it's well-known they are notorious for their nickel & dime issues. So so even despite their warts ....
    .
     
    RCO likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,998
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    not that surprised in either case. for toyota, it could be dissatisfaction with entune, the massive recalls, or myriad other issues.
    it could even be that people are seeing in other hybrids features that toyota does not have.
    we still like ours, but the time spent at the dealer on recalls is a bit much. but i haven't owned another brand since 2000, so it's hard to compare.
     
    austingreen and RCO like this.
  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I'm also surprised to see Chrysler so highly ranked.
     
    scona and paprius4030 like this.
  4. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2004
    2,077
    295
    0
    Location:
    Ormond Beach,Fl.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yeah Chrysler shocked the heck out of me! I'm glad for them I was always a MOPAR guy when I was young.
     
  5. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2012
    3,645
    1,628
    0
    Location:
    Sanford, NC
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    The source of such rankings are always suspect. How many people would accurately report on a car they bought as an ego enhancer? Or would they self justify away any problem/recall by saying well the company fixed it so I won't report it. (I follow Porsche forums and they are great cars, just not perfect.)
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,801
    48,998
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i was thinking the same. but based on the number of jeeps i see around here, i wonder what is making them so popular.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  7. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,679
    8,072
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    From Willys to Kaiser to American Motors, to chrysler & now Fiat.
    It's not the owner/company people like, it's the jeep product, regardless of owner.
    Fiat btw didn't make the list - but for jeep - at spot #21
    ;)
    Genesis was the shocker for me. I didn't realize Hyundai had a Luxury/Lexus type manufacturing division. On a consolation note, CR places the Prius #7 on the "Most Satisfying" list ... so it was the other cars Toyota sells that pulled the fleet down a notch.
    .
     
    #7 hill, Dec 21, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2017
    RCO likes this.
  8. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    891
    1,796
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoan in TX
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    How does CR weight that for self-selection bias, or do they? Relatively speaking, the numbers of Tesla, Porsche, and Genesis buyers have got to be very small in comparison with Toyota buyers.

    Correlation does not equal causation...

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    fotomoto, RCO, orenji and 1 other person like this.
  9. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2004
    2,077
    295
    0
    Location:
    Ormond Beach,Fl.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yeah now that I look at the list again I see Dodge, The trucks and Jeep are by themselves and further down the list. Doesn't leave but only a few models for the Chrysler banner. That may be the answer.
     
    jerrymildred and scona like this.
  10. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,679
    8,072
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    CR says how they managed to conclude the way they do, in the article;
    iduno ... over the decades, there have been some nutty conclusions CR has drawn, over a bunch of the products they review. Still, the list, based on the above criteria doesn't seem to be inherently skewed. CR has been more than willing (for example) to seriously bash tesla, and yet despite "CR's ratings" (part of the matrix) for tesla - they still came up w/ the #1 spot for them. (scratching head)

    The fact (for example) that VW manufacturing HAS (made up number) 1million car owners that had their ride for (at least) 3 years doesn't mean that the data is invalid - just because the "other" company only had 50,000 3 year ownership drivers
    .... if the satisfaction survey (for example) represents 2,000 owners of each car of that company (250 different car models possibly?), the survey still represents a value of the pool - even though the ratio sampling is different.
    .
     
    #10 hill, Dec 21, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2017
    RCO likes this.
  11. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    image.jpeg Interesting but one really needs to do further investigation. If you dig deeper Consumer Reports does not recommend the Model X, so your list is just about liking the car, as an owner, but not about reliability.
     
    jerrymildred, scona and pilotgrrl like this.
  12. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    How could you not know about Genesis? They have had a major advertising campaigne for about a year. There cars range in the $80k to $90k. Actually better looking then anything coming out by Tesla.
     
  13. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    7 out of 10 most reliable cars come from Toyota/Lexus as reported by Consumer Reports for 2017/18. The other 3 were are a KIa, Infiniti and a Audi Q3!

    Tesla did make the list for the Top Ten unreliable cars with the Tesla X. Way to go Tesla.
     
    Lucifer likes this.
  14. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    As the saying goes, there's no accounting for taste, and I think this is simply a taste survey. Often, people will put up with all sorts of inconvenience or failures to get that one feature that they value very highly. (ie. "I don't care that it's in the shop nine times a year, I love how it accelerates." "So what if it costs me $250/month for gas? It has real wood paneling!")

    And then there's what I've always called the human passion for mediocrity. :confused:
     
    RCO likes this.
  15. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,679
    8,072
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    yep - & that's EXACTLY why @orenji or others can't wrap their heads head around the CR survey. It has nothing to do with how many times it does or doesn't go into the shop ... it has nothing to do with the fit & finish or the body shape or reliability or handling or power or drag coefficient etc. In fact, its more profound. Despite how wonderful, or how many warts CR finds .... if most of the owners really hate it or wana buy it again - then CR's opinion can actually be vetoed or softened. That's exactly why CR can not recommend the model X - & yet Tesla can be #1 on the customer satisfaction survey. Orenji vwill scratch his head, & CR will do likewise .... because it's not about THEIR opinion. Similarly, if you & I love most Toyota cars, & CR loves most of them, that doesn't matter either, because too many owners have downgraded them - satisfaction wise. This survey is similar to a "best & worst" songs selection. We all hate or love different things despite what others may hate or love.

    .
     
    #15 hill, Dec 22, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2017
    highker, jerrymildred and Zythryn like this.
  16. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
    5,597
    3,771
    0
    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    I have yet to see a traditional ad from them either. I watch a fair amount of mainstream TV but use adblocker online.

    Owner satisfaction surveys for a particular model tend to drop and flatten a few years in. I signed up with truedelta online surveys when I first got my Energi but quickly stopped participating.
     
  17. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2008
    6,175
    4,170
    1
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    Very well said!
    I love our Prius Gen 2, it was the most satisfied I had ever been with a car.
    It had a major issue with its ABS brakes, but that paled in comparison with most of the other factors.

    Most people don’t experience the issues CR identified, but more did than experience those issues with most other brands.
    And this isn’t simply a question of liking the car, it is a question of “would you buy it again?”.
    This tends to cut through a lot of any bias. While humans can rationize about how happy they are with a car, even though it has a few warts, they are even better at rationalizing why their next car will be something else.
     
  18. Lucifer

    Lucifer Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    1,014
    485
    0
    Location:
    Nh
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Ha, Ram #12 up 5 places, check out trade in values, tru the floor, the ecodiesel isn’t being built yet for 18’ the EPA decertified it, ( I have 15) the front wheel bearings are ungreased at the factory and are ungreaseable, the dealer network is a joke, I’m thinking the Russian bots are running this survey.
     
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,679
    8,072
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2018 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    Premium
    Fake News?
    Nothin' burger?

    .
     
  20. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,164
    15,409
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Although I somewhat agree, the problem was in the past CR did not change their criteria to reflect the survey results. During the Gen-2 through early Gen-3 years, CR consistently panned the Prius yet the owner surveys were over the top, high. Then I did a multivariable analysis and found CR had undocumented requirements for:
    • strong driver creature comfort
    • PASS/FAIL ~20 points, 10 sec to 60 mph
    • severely flawed, commuter MPG protocol
    • no consideration of MPG when gas was over $3/gal
    Had CR been open about their scoring, we'd probably have kept our subscription. But the last straw was an article criticizing the open EPA protocol while remaining mum about their own. Thanks to @cwerdna and after two editor and staff changes, CR finally opened up about their 'commuting' protocol. But trust once lost is hard to regain.

    Bob Wilson
     
    highker and jerrymildred like this.