Hyundai Named Most Appealing Non-Luxury Brand
Hyundai has managed to top yet another J.D. Power study among nonpremium brands.
The Korean automaker scored 804 in this year’s J.D. Power APEAL study, ranking 13th overall but highest among non-luxury brands.
The study asks owners about new-vehicle appeal, getting them to evaluate their vehicle in 77 different areas. Those scores are then combined into an overall APEAL score that is measured on a 1000-point scale. This year, the overall APEAL score averaged 794, marking a single-point decrease compared to last year.
Hyundai bested Ram (800), Volkswagen (796), MINI (795) and the industry average of 794. This comes shortly after the brand was fourth overall in this year’s IQS.
SEE ALSO: 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study Slams Fiat
The result makes Hyundai the first nonpremium brand to rank highest in the APEAL and IQS in the same year. Helping pave the way for the automaker’s victory was its strong performances in the audio, communication, entertainment and navigation categories. The brand also took the Small Car category with its Accent model while the midsize Sonata improved 22 points to 819.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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Insignificant. All of about 5 people take into account J.D. power information when they are buying a car.
Hyundai is trying their hardest to be a luxury brand. I'm not sure that being first in the non luxury Makes then feel better about being last in the luxury category.