New Study: These Vehicle Brands Rank Highest in Initial Quality

Craig Johnson | July 7th, 2020

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If you’re thinking about buying a new vehicle, you’re probably looking for a brand that doesn’t give you problems. What if you could find out what types of issues are occuring with specific brands and models of 2020 cars?

J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study (IQS) breaks down automotive problems with 2020 model-year vehicles. The list was compiled by examining the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100). The lower the score, the higher the vehicle quality.

To determine initial quality, the study logged issues that occurred during the first 90 days of vehicle ownership.

Some key findings from the report include:

Problems with infotainment systems: Amenities like touchscreens, voice recognition and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay account for the most problematic category with nearly one-fourth of new car owners citing them in the report.
Domestic brands score well: Seven domestic brands, including Dodge, Chevrolet, Ram, Buick, GMC, Jeep and Cadillac scored better than the overall industry average of 166 PP100.

If you’re wondering which vehicle brands give the owners the least amount of trouble, let’s look at the list from J.D. Power:

Here Are the Top Brands in Initial Quality
Dodge	136
Kia	136
Chevrolet	141
Ram	141
Genesis	142
Mitsubishi	148
Buick	150
GMC	151
Volkswagen	152
Hyundai	153
Jeep	155
Lexus	159
Nissan	161
Cadillac	162
Industry Average	166

Read J.D. Power’s complete 2020 Initial Quality Study here.

The annual study was more expansive this year, accounting for more mechanical and technical issues, according to Dave Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of automotive quality.

“The higher problem levels we see in this year’s study don’t mean vehicle quality has worsened; rather, the redesigned study asks additional questions that allow owners to cite more of the problems that they are experiencing,” Sargent says in a news release.

Are you interested in purchasing a vehicle but don’t know where to start? Follow Team Clark’s steps to buy a new car the right way.