Total Quality Winners - MSN Autos
Hyundai has come a long way since first coming to America 20 years ago. The Korean car company topped all other automakers in the number of vehicles receiving the highest score in their category, according to the 2007 Total Quality Index (TQI) Awards from automotive consulting firm Strategic Vision.
The Total Quality Index was calculated based on responses from more than 27,000 buyers who bought 2007 models in September, October and November of 2006. Each year buyers are asked to rate all aspects of the ownership experience, from buying and owning to driving. Top ratings were broken down into 19 different product segments.
Strategic Vision has been calculating the TQI every year since 1995. "Unlike last year, we're seeing many new or redesigned vehicles not ranking near the top of their segments," said Strategic Vision Founder and CEO Darrel Edwards.
Photo Gallery: Total Quality Winners
Although no single automaker dominated the awards this year, three of the 19 segments were led by vehicles from Hyundai. These included the
Azera at the top of the Large Car segment,
Entourage in a tie for the Minivan segment and the
Santa Fe leading the Small SUV segment.
Kia models led two segments, giving Hyundai Motors a total of five top-scoring vehicles.
"Even though Hyundai is often overlooked by the U.S. customer, Hyundai's success in 2007 is not surprising given its current products and press in leadership that is looking to the near and distant future with new designs from styling to powertrain," Edwards commented.
Ford earned the most top spots among domestic automakers, leading three of the segments. The
Expedition was ranked top Large SUV, the
F-150 tied with the
Nissan Titan as top Full-Size Pickup and the
F-250/
F-350 Super Duty ranked highest among Heavy-Duty Pickups.
Nissan was the only other brand with three leading vehicles, all locked in ties with the closest competition.
Maxima tied with the
Saturn Aura for Medium Car,
Quest matched up with the
Kia Sedona and Hyundai Entourage in the Minivan segment, with the Titan and Ford F-150 both at the top of the Full-Size Pickup segment.
Surprisingly, the only
Toyota Motor Company vehicle to rank as best of its segment was the
Lexus RX 350 as top Near-Luxury SUV. Last year four Toyota/Lexus models ranked highest.
BMW was also a top-scoring brand—a feat the German company has managed eight of the last nine years.
Volkswagen of America once again earned the top spot as best full-line corporation.
Only five vehicles were repeat winners in 2007, including the
Chevrolet Corvette,
Dodge Magnum,
Honda Civic,
Lexus RX 350 and
MINI Cooper.
Here are the 2007 Total Quality Index winners:
Small Car
Honda Civic
Small Multi-Function Vehicle
Volkswagen Rabbit
Medium Car
Saturn Aura (tie)
Nissan Maxima (tie)
Large Car
Hyundai Azera
Small Specialty Under $25,000
MINI Cooper
Near-Luxury Car
BMW 3-Series
Luxury Car
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Convertible Under $30,000
MINI Cooper Convertible
Convertible Over $30,000
Chevrolet Corvette
Minivan
Kia Sedona (tie)
Hyundai Entourage (tie)
Nissan Quest (tie)
Small SUV
Hyundai Santa Fe
Medium SUV
Kia Sorento
Medium Crossover
Dodge Magnum
Large SUV
Ford Expedition EL
Near-Luxury SUV
Lexus RX 350
Luxury SUV
Mercedes-Benz ML
Standard Pickup
Honda Ridgeline
Full-Size Pickup
Nissan Titan (tie)
Ford F-150 (tie)
Heavy-Duty Pickup
Ford F-250 /
Ford F-350
Source: Strategic Vision
Go Hyundai! :)
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