Variance

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/15/Auto..._vsa/index.htm

Brand: Lexus

Premium Luxury Car: Jaguar XJ

Entry Luxury Car: Nissan Maxima

Luxury/Large Car:Lincoln Town Car

Premium Mid-Size Car: Nissan Altima/Buick LaCrosse

Standard Mid-Size Car: Mazda6

Compact Car: Scion xB

Sports Car: Porsche 911

Sporty Car: Pontiac GTO

Large Light-Duty Pickup: Nissan Titan

Large Heavy-Duty Pickup: Dodge Ram HD

Compact Pickup: Nissan Frontier

Luxury Sport Utility: Volvo XC90

Large Sport Utility: Nissan Armada

Premium Mid-Size Sport Utility: Nissan Murano

Standard Mid-Size Sport Utility: Chevrolet Equinox/Hyundai Santa Fe

Compact Sport Utility: Hyundai Tucson/Honda Element

Minivan: Toyota Sienna/Honda Odyssey/Nissan Quest

mmarshall

Hard to believe the Murano and Quest made that list. I find both the exteriors and the interiors on both of them to be ugly and awkward to the point of being offensive....in some ways worse than the Pontiac Aztek. But I guess a lot of the people that have actually bought them have liked them.
I also notice that some rather unreliable vehicles made the list, too.....the Jaguar XJ, the Volvo XC90, and the Nissan Armada. This just proves that if owners like a vehicle's design enough they will put up with reliability problems. We've seen that for years with the Corvette and some BMW's.

I'm not just being Lexus-biased because it is a Lexus forum, but it is REALLY strange, IMO, that the LS430 did not take top posting in the premium luxury-car segment. That car, in many ways, IMO is truly the finest mass-produced vehicle quality-wise, refinement-wise, and engineering-wise, that the industry can produce.

Variance

Nothing can possibly be worse than the Aztek.

mmarshall

Hard to say....again, opinions vary on this. Among today's vehicles, many people consider the Toyota Echo, Scion xA and xB, Nissan Murano, and the Mazda 3 to be rather ugly. The Scion xB, especially, even though you have to give it kudos for space efficiency , turns me off almost every time I look at it .....IMO it looks ridiculous.

Variance

"...eye of the beholder", I suppose.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Hmm... I think the Quest at least adds something distinctive in the usually incredibly bland minivan area. And the Murano I think it's pretty stylish - I like its looks better than the RX330 actually.

True - the survey was about 'most satisfying' not most reliable or anything. The latest XJ is a massive improvement over the prior one, I wasn't aware that it's unreliable - any data source on this?

Quality, refinement and engineering are all 'left brain' qualities which you focus on, often having little to do though with being 'satisfying' which is more a right brain emotional thing.

The LS430 is as you say, wonderfully refined, reliable, etc., but many still find it very boring and thus not satisfying. I'd still love to have an LS430 although it still needs a true active suspension to really give MB and BMW a hard time against their ABC and active roll bars. Those cars drive FLAT while the LS430 still rolls like a big ship in more aggressive cornering. And this isn't just a performance comment, it actually makes the car more luxurious in my opinion if it corners flatter because the occupants aren't tossed around as bad.

Gojirra99

I like the exterior styling of the Murano too, very sharp & distinctive. I like both RX330 & Murano, they both look nice in their own way.
I would like Lexus to offer an active suspension similar to the ABC in Mercedes too, but I think Lexus also want to keep the price of the LS relatively low, so I think they should make it as an option only. Even for the current S class, the ABC is only standard for the S55/600/65, but an option for the S430/500.

GeorgeGS4

i dont understand how they're favorite brand can be lexus, but not one of their cars are on the list.....

Gojirra99

There are lots of models for each brand, I think Lexus get the best results overall when you average them all up, their satisfaction rate must be very high across all their models.

mmarshall

Consumer Reports...but they're stingy and don't allow access to much of their auto data on the website. You either have to have to be registered and have a subscription or have access to the actual paper copy of the magazine.

CR, by the way, also does their own auto-satisfaction surveys....and publishes it in the issues.

-J-P-L-

I'm surprised you would consider the Murano ugly and even offensive. I among so many others
consider it one of the best looking SUV's in the world. Styling is one of the main reasons this is among the better selling SUVs. I see tons of them everyday.

The Mazda 3 is arguably the best looking small econo sedan out there. Better looking than Corolla, Cobalt, Neon, Sentra, Focus, and even Civic. The only small car better looking is the Scion tC but that's a coupe.

mmarshall

I respect your opinion on the Murano....that is one reason why it does sell. Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. I personally find it rather awkward-styled...I have never liked its looks. The interior, IMO, is unbecoming a vehicle of that price. But I will give you this...it IS different, and it DOES turn heads.

Similiarly, I have GREAT respect for the Mazda 3's engineering and its BMW-like chassis and steering. Mazdas are known as the "poor man's BMW " precisely for their steering feel and handling......some of the best in the front-drive world. And I would buy a number of Mazda designs before the Chris Bangle BMW's. This Mazda precision-feel used to be known as " Kansai " and was one of the company's trademarks....similiar to Volkswagen's " Farvernugen" I myself drove Mazdas for years before converting to Toyota and Lexus products...and recently to Subarus. I DO think, though, that their styling, like that of some other firms, has gone downhill lately except for the Miata, and I just find the new 3 to be visually unappealing, like the Murano....that's all.