Customers who have a desire to own the very best in premium vehicles are in a distinct and knowledgeable group of their own: they also have higher loyalty than volume-brand buyers. Many customers who seek us out at Jim Butler Kia also are the type who put a very high importance on a vehicle owning experience that is problem-free. Now in its third year, the J.D. Power U.K. Vehicle Dependency Study measures problems experienced during the first year of ownership, looking at 177 problems across 8 different categories.
More than 12,000 owners of new vehicles registered from February 2014 through April 2016 were the base of information for these findings. Some of the categories looked at are vehicle exterior, driving experience, features/controls/displays, audio/communication /entertainment/navigation, seats, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, vehicle interior, and transmission. The finished ranking of overall dependency is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower number ultimately being better.
Kia and Volvo actually tied for No. 1 in vehicle dependability among every single brand, with a score of 83 PP100. Among these premium owners that have experienced nearly no problems with their vehicle, 58% say they definitely will have a lease or purchase the same brand of car again. Once an owner experiences one or more problems, that number declines to 48%. One of the reasons why we are so proud to stand behind Kia here at Jim Butler is the brand's amazing lack of design problems, and the fact that this really stands true in the long run. When a customer has an appointment for service, a design problem is sometimes not an easy fix, and if the owner has to live with said problem for the entire life span of the vehicle, they are not likely to ever go near the same brand in the future.
Surveys and reports such as this have also cited just how important customers find fuel efficiency: it is cited more than any other reason, and is the category of lowest satisfaction among those who own premium cars. Excellent and feature-filled models such as the Soul, Rondo, Optima, and Sportage are some of the highest-ranked vehicles that exist. Ranked 3 out of 19 Midsize SUV's the 2018 Kia Sorento is a wildly comfortable, top-safety scoring, and luxurious upscale ride.Car and Driver states that “transitional stability is what really sells the Stinger GT's handling credentials”, and that it's “everything you'd want in a GT car”.
If it's the Soul that ultimately moves you, come down to the lot and check out its 16-inch alloy wheels, UVO3 interface, six-speaker audio system, and Bluetooth capabilities. This is a cabin that stays very quiet on the highway, and a vehicle that was given a five-star overall safety score from the NHTSA. When equipped with the Primo package, the mid-grade Soul Plus offers up adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning for quick avoidance of dangerous scenarios.
