2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (Mercedes-Benz)
Each year, marketing firms conduct countless studies to help guide car-buyers' decisions. They study vehicle reliability, the quality of the dealership experience, even how well consumers navigate automakers' websites.
But what about the cars that people like? Reliability and quality aside, what cars do owners simply enjoy driving?
AutoPacific provides some answers in its most recent Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.
Before doling out those awards, AutoPacific polled over 92,000 new vehicle owners, asking them to score their vehicles on 50 separate criteria, including things like fuel economy, performance, and interior comfort. The firms says that this year's findings were fairly unusual, because no single brand or automaker dominated the results. Chevrolet has four models on the list; Lincoln has three; and BMW, GMC, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz each have two.
Mercedes-Benz earns a special nod for receiving the highest VSA score in the survey's 18 years. Ford, GMC, and Lincoln also fared well, each making significant gains with consumers over last year. The two worst performers on AutoPacific's list were Jaguar and Volkswagen, both of which tumbled in the rankings.
And so, without further ado, the winners of this year's Vehicle Satisfaction Awards are:
President's Award for highest VSA score ever: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Highest satisfaction, premium brand: Lincoln
Highest satisfaction, popular brand: GMC
PASSENGER CARS
Premium Luxury Car -- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Executive Luxury Car -- Lincoln MKS
Aspirational Luxury Car -- BMW 3-Series GT
Luxury Mid-Size Car -- Lincoln MKZ
Large Car -- Chevrolet Impala
Mid-Size Car -- Kia Optima
Premium Compact Car -- Mercedes-Benz CLA
Compact Car -- Kia Soul
Economy Car -- Chevrolet Sonic
Sports Car -- Chevrolet Corvette
Sporty Car -- Chevrolet Camaro
Hybrid Car/EV -- Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
LIGHT TRUCKS
Heavy Duty Pickup -- Ford F-Series Super Duty
Light Duty Pickup -- GMC Sierra
Luxury/Large SUV -- Infiniti QX80
Mid-Size SUV -- Jeep Grand Cherokee
Premium Luxury Crossover SUV -- BMW X5
Luxury Crossover SUV -- Cadillac SRX
Large Crossover SUV -- GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV -- Toyota Highlander
Mid-Size Crossover SUV -- Nissan Rogue
Compact Crossover SUV -- Hyundai Tucson
Minivan -- Honda Odyssey
Got a beef with these results? (We're guessing some of you do.) Sound off in the comments and let us know how you rate your own ride.