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January 2008
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Used car owner satisfaction
To gauge how much people like their current vehicles, Consumer Reports asks the following question on its annual subscriber survey: "Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.) would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?" Respondents have four choices, from "definitely yes" to "definitely no." For the 2003 and 2005 model years, we tallied the percentage from our 2007 survey who said they would definitely get the same car again. The vehicles listed below are among the most and least satisfying 2003 and 2005 models.

  • Of the 15 most satisfying 2005 models, 6 are from Toyota or Toyota's Lexus brand. For the fourth year in a row, the Chevrolet Corvette was the only domestic car in the most satisfying list of newer vehicles. Six other sports cars, the Porsche Boxster, Porsche 911, Mini Cooper hatchback, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Honda S2000, and Mini Cooper Convertible also made that list. Two Volkswagen diesels, the Passat and Jetta sedans, round out the list. Among the 5-year-olds, Toyota dominated with 9 of the 14 entries. The Toyota Prius, S2000, Corvette, Lexus LS, 911, Toyota Avalon, Toyota 4Runner, and WRX STi make both the 2003 and 2005 most-satisfying lists.


  • The least satisfying vehicles were from a mix of manufacturers. The 2005 list was dominated by General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. GM products accounted for 7 of the 11 2005 models and Chrysler had the other 4 models. General Motors was also prominently featured on the 2003 list, with 6 of the 12 models. Chrysler only had 2 models on that list. The only European model was the Land Rover Discovery, which is on the 2003 list. Nissan and Kia were the only other brands to make the 2003 least-satisfying list.


Note that owner satisfaction and reliability scores are not always in sync. While reliability influences satisfaction, there are other factors such as handling, comfort, features, styling, size, and even image. Therefore, some cars like the Porsche 911 or Corvette get high satisfaction scores yet have some years with below-average reliability.


2003 MODELS
LEAST SATISFYING
CAR %*
Chevrolet Venture (reg.) 34
Pontiac Montana (reg.) 34
Land Rover Discovery 34
Chevrolet Cavalier (sedan) 33
Chrysler Voyager (4-cyl.) 32
Dodge Caravan (4-cyl.) 32
Saturn Vue (4-cyl., AWD) 32
Chevrolet Cavalier Coupe 32
Pontiac Sunfire Coupe 32
Oldsmobile Alero 32
Nissan Sentra 31
Kia Sedona 31
* Percent of respondents who said they would definitely get the same car again.
MOST SATISFYING
CAR %*
Lexus LS 93
Toyota Prius 90
Chevrolet Corvette 87
Porsche 911 84
Toyota Avalon 83
Toyota Land Cruiser 83
Mazda MX-5 Miata 82
Honda S2000 82
Lexus LX470 82
Subaru Impreza WRX (wagon) 81
Toyota Highlander (V6) 80
Lexus SC 80
Toyota 4Runner (4WD) 80
Lexus GX470 80
* Percent of respondents who said they would definitely get the same car again.



2005 MODELS
LEAST SATISFYING
CAR %*
Chevrolet Cavalier Coupe 34
Pontiac Sunfire Coupe 34
Pontiac Montana SV6 (FWD) 34
Jeep Grand Cherokee (V6) 33
Chrysler Sebring sedan (4-cyl.) 31
Dodge Stratus sedan (4-cyl.) 31
Chevrolet Equinox 30
Buick Terraza (FWD) 28
Chevrolet Uplander (FWD) 28
Saturn Relay (FWD) 28
Dodge Caravan (4-cyl.) 26
* Percent of respondents who said they would definitely get the same car again.
MOST SATISFYING
CAR %*
Toyota Prius 93
Lexus LS 89
Porsche Boxster 88
Toyota Land Cruiser 85
Chevrolet Corvette 84
Volkswagen Passat sedan (4-cyl, turbodiesel) 84
Porsche 911 83
Mini Cooper S (hatch) 83
Subaru Impreza WRX STi 83
Honda S2000 81
Volkswagen Jetta sedan (4-cyl, turbodiesel) 81
Mini Cooper convertible 80
Toyota Sienna (FWD) 80
Toyota Avalon 80
Toyota 4Runner (4WD) 80
* Percent of respondents who said they would definitely get the same car again.