Special Report
America's Best and Worst New Cars
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For the second straight year, Kia scored highest in an initial quality ranking for new cars, according to the findings of the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Initial Quality Study that was released today.
The study examined problems experienced by vehicle owners during the first 90 days of ownership. Initial quality of each make was determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed quality scores for all 32 car brands considered by J.D. Power.
J.D. Power, based in Costa Mesa, California, said new-vehicle quality is at its highest level ever, improving 8% from last year. Even so, some manufacturers continue to sell cars that cause grief to new-car buyers. A new owner of some of these poorly rated cars is more likely than not to report at least one problem in the first three months of ownership.
Click here to see the best and worst new cars.
MINI is the most improved brand, with owners reporting 33 fewer problems per 100 vehicles than in 2016. Other brands with strong improvement include Ram, Acura, Volvo, and Ford.
“Today’s vehicles have more things that could go wrong but fewer things that actually do go wrong,” said Dave Sargent, vice president, global automotive at J.D. Power, in a press release.
Car technology continues to improve, offering seemingly endless options of special features. According to the J.D. Power study, plenty of problems remain despite technological advancements. Based on reported problems, the quality of a number of luxury add-ons including cruise control, lane departure warnings, collision alert systems, and blind spot warning systems, got worse.
When the study was first published in 1987, people reported problems with their carburetors, cassette players, and their manual wind-up windows. Drivers were concerned about their vehicle not starting in the morning and not being able to get them where they needed to go without breaking down. Cars have become more reliable and people now worry about their voice-recognition system not being perfect, or the sensitivity of their lane-departure warning system.
To identify the best and worst new cars, 24/7 Wall St. listed the problems per 100 vehicles score for each of the 32 nameplates measured in J.D. Power’s 2017 U.S. Initial Quality Study. The study is based on responses from more than 80,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2017 model-year vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership. 2016 vehicle sales figures for each brand were obtained from GoodCarBadCar.net.
These are the best and worst new cars.
Source: kia.com
1. Kia
> Problems in first 3 months: 72 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 647,598
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group
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Source: genesis.com
2. Genesis
> Problems in first 3 months: 77 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 6,948
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group
Source: Porsche.com
3. Porsche
> Problems in first 3 months: 78 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 54,280
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
Source: Courtesy of Ford
4. Ford
> Problems in first 3 months: 86 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 2,487,487
> Parent company: Ford Motor Company
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Source: Courtesy of RAM
5. Ram
> Problems in first 3 months: 86 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 545,851
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
Source: Wikimedia Commons
6. BMW
> Problems in first 3 months: 88 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 313,174
> Parent company: BMW
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Source: courtesy of General Motors Co.
7. Chevrolet
> Problems in first 3 months: 88 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 2,096,510
> Parent company: General Motors
Source: hyundaiusa.com
8. Hyundai
> Problems in first 3 months: 88 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 768,057
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group
Source: lincoln.com
9. Lincoln
> Problems in first 3 months: 92 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 111,724
> Parent company: Ford Motor Company
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Source: Antonio / Wikimedia Commons
10. Nissan
> Problems in first 3 months: 93 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 1,426,130
> Parent company: Groupe Renault
Source: courtesy of Volkswagen of America Inc.
11. Volkswagen
> Problems in first 3 months: 93 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 322,948
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
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Source: miniusa.com
12. MINI
> Problems in first 3 months: 94 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 52,030
> Parent company: BMW
24/7 Wall St.
Source: buick.com
13. Buick
> Problems in first 3 months: 95 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 229,631
> Parent company: General Motors
Source: Toyota.com
14. Toyota
> Problems in first 3 months: 95 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 2,106,374
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Company
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Source: courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
15. Lexus
> Problems in first 3 months: 98 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 331,228
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Company
Source: gmc.com
16. GMC
> Problems in first 3 months: 99 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 546,628
> Parent company: General Motors
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Source: chrysler.com
17. Chrysler
> Problems in first 3 months: 102 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 231,972
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
Source: mbusa.com
18. Mercedes-Benz
> Problems in first 3 months: 102 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 374,541
> Parent company: Daimler AG
Source: Courtesy of Acura
19. Acura
> Problems in first 3 months: 103 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 161,360
> Parent company: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
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Source: courtesy of Cadillac
20. Cadillac
> Problems in first 3 months: 105 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 170,006
> Parent company: General Motors
Source: Honda.com
21. Honda
> Problems in first 3 months: 105 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 1,476,582
> Parent company: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
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Source: dodge.com
22. Dodge
> Problems in first 3 months: 106 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 506,858
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
24/7 Wall St.
Source: Courtesy of Infiniti
23. Infiniti
> Problems in first 3 months: 107 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 138,293
> Parent company: Groupe Renault
Source: Thinkstock
24. Jeep
> Problems in first 3 months: 107 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 926,376
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
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Source: courtesy of Subaru of America
25. Subaru
> Problems in first 3 months: 113 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 615,132
> Parent company: Fuji Heavy Industries
Source: audiusa.com
26. Audi
> Problems in first 3 months: 115 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 210,213
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
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Source: http://insidemazda.mazdausa.com
27. Mazda
> Problems in first 3 months: 125 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 297,773
> Parent company: Mazda Motor Corporation
24/7 Wall St.
Source: landroverusa.com
28. Land Rover
> Problems in first 3 months: 131 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 73,861
> Parent company: Tata Motors
Source: Courtesy of Mitsubishi
29. Mitsubishi
> Problems in first 3 months: 131 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 96,267
> Parent company: Renault-Nissan Alliance
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Source: media.volvocars.com
30. Volvo
> Problems in first 3 months: 134 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 82,724
> Parent company: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
Source: Courtesy of jaguarusa.com
31. Jaguar
> Problems in first 3 months: 148 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 31,243
> Parent company: Tata Motors
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Source: fiatusa.com
32. Fiat
> Problems in first 3 months: 163 per 100 cars
> 2016 unit sales: 32,742
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
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