Each year J.D. Power & Associates does a study that examines the most appealing cars to consumers and this year there is one big surprise. The Hyundai Genesis sedan topped the BMW 5 Series and Jaguar XF in the mid-sized luxury segment for the 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.

The APEAL Study is based off of owner evaluations of over 80,900 new car consumers from February to May 2009 and takes into account over 90 factors and generally evaluates how those buyers or leasers feel about their car new car.

Other winners include the VW Passat in the Mid-sized car segment, the Nissan Maxima in the Large Car segment, the Honda Odyssey in the Minivan Segment, a tie between the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Avalanche in the Pickup Truck segment and the Smart fortwo in the Sub-compact Car segment. And on that note, we urge you to take the list with a grain of salt, as the Smart beat out cars like the Honda Fit.

In terms of manufacturers, Porsche topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, while domestic brands like Dodge, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac showed the most improvement. As a manufacturer Cadillac placed third overall.

Overall, scores for 2009 improved over 2008, due mostly to improvements in the fuel-economy segment. J.D. Power lists three contributing factors to this increase: improved fuel-economy of the vehicles; an increase in ownership of fuel-efficient cars, with over 50 percent (as compared to 39 percent in 2008) of the surveyed vehicles powered by four-cylinder engines; and a drop in fuel prices that has also meant consumers are less interested in fuel economy.

One other trend that has emerged is the increasing appeal of domestic brands, as they ranked, on average, just five points below import brands. This compares to a difference of 15 points last year and 27 points in 2007.

More: Hyundai Genesis Tops BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF in J.D. Power APEAL Study on AutoGuide.com

Nice to see the Genesis up there.

Didn't Azera win the Appeal award in 2006 or 07? Learned a long time ago to take Consumer Reports with a grain of salt and JD Powers with a bag full. JDP gives awards for just about everything and sets up the standards so that almost any product can win something. Look at products other than cars.
Also, JDP charges for the use of its "awards" in advertising.

^ While the Azera isn't my cup of tea, it's not like the Azera hasn't won other accolades for what it is - a nice, large soft-riding sedan (btw, so typical of gatortroll to downplay anything about the Genesis).


Edmunds.com Consumers Top Rated Sedan - 2008 Azera: The Azera was named Edmunds.com Top Rated Sedan Between $15,000 and $25,000.

Strategic Vision - 2007 Azera: The Azera was named the "Winner Strategic Vision’s 2007 Total Quality Index™ (TQI) for the large car segment"

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance “Best in Class” in the $25,000 to $30,000 category – 2007 Azera: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance 2007 Car Buyer’s "Best of 2007 Cars" March 2007.

Edmunds.com Editors Most Wanted - 2007 Azera: The Azera was named Edmunds.com Editor's Most Wanted Sedan Under $30,000

Consumer's Digest - 2007 Azera: The Azera was named "A Consumer's Digest Best Buy"

J.D. Power and Associates – 2007 and 2006 Azera: The Azera was named "Most Appealing Large Car"

AutoPacific © - 2006 Azera: The Azera was named "Best in Class Vehicle Satisfaction Large Luxury Car

Strategic Vision - 2006 Azera: The Azera was named the "Winner Strategic Vision’s 2006 Total Value Award™ for Best Large Car Ownership Experience"

This post has been edited by CP1: Aug 2 2009, 06:33 PM

What they don’t tell you is how difficult Hyundai is to deal with when you get the occasional defective unit. They are a very difficult company to deal with and from the beginning of your problem Hyundai will claim that the car performs as designed. I would check out my video of what Hyundai calls a car working as designed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwcBqI69QM4

I would say that the Genesis could have the ability to be a luxury car but it is not because it’s produced by a manufacture that traditionally produces low end vehicles.