Mazda was this month voted the best brand for driver satisfaction for the 12 months to July 2017 in research from Roy Morgan, with a winning 95.3 per cent grin factor.

That’s up on the previous 12 months when Mazda was fourth behind Lexus, Skoda and Isuzu Ute.

J.D Power – Click to enlarge

Roy Morgan’s Automotive Satisfaction Report is based on 40,000 interviews with car owners each year.

Just before you rush Mazda to order more cars, JD Power’s survey of Australian car owners found Hyundai came out on top of its new-purchase satisfaction survey that put the Korean in top spot ahead of stablemate Kia. Holden was third.

Based on a 1000-point scale, JD Power scores on the buyers’ interaction with the salesperson (making up 19 per cent of the total); the deal (18 per cent); delivery timing (17 per cent); delivery process (17 per cent); dealer facility (16 per cent); and sales initiation (14 per cent).

Roy Morgan – Click to enlarge

Hyundai posted the best of 12 brands surveyed with 827 points, followed by Kia with 824 and Holden with 823. Ford was in fourth (821), then Toyota (817) and Mitsubishi (817). The survey average was 816 points.

JD Power surveyed 2779 new-car buyers in the 12 months June 2016 to June 2017.

Interestingly, JD Power’s top brand, Hyundai, was in 16th place in the Roy Morgan survey, while Kia was 15th and Holden 22nd.

Roy Morgan’s top pick, Mazda, was in seventh place and under the industry average for satisfaction according to JD Power.

You be the judge.

Roy Morgan – Click to enlarge

By Neil Dowling