Toyota pious

Published on Wednesday 7 May 2008 22:02

THE hybrid Toyota Prius has triumphed in a major satisfaction survey.

The petrol-electric engined car has taken top spot in the influential JD Power-What Car? magazine poll after sharing the honours with the Lexis IS last year.

The Prius scored 901 points out of a possible 1,000 in a survey of more than 16,000 car owners who had had their vehicles for an average of two years.

A total of 100 models were assessed for four measures of satisfaction – quality and reliability, vehicle appeal, dealer service satisfaction and ownership costs.

The Lexus IS slipped into third place this year with 861 points, below the Honda Jazz, with 872, which was third last year.

The top manufacturer was Lexus on 866 points, with Skoda second on 846 and Honda third on 844. At the bottom of the list was Fiat on 744 points.

Steve Fowler, editor of What Car?, said: "The Prius already has iconic status because of its green credentials. Now it's demonstrating it's also the watchword for reliability and satisfaction.

"It delivers on many of the points that matter most to car buyers today – it's environmentally friendly and reasonably frugal, yet it's also reliable and a great car to own."

Martin Volk, senior research manager at JD Power, said: "Honda distinguishes itself by garnering the greatest number of segment awards in the 2008 study and also by 'placing' in the top three nameplates.

"While Lexus maintains its position as the top-ranked nameplate, two non-premium nameplates – Skoda and Honda – are also placed among the top three, which is a testament to the continued efforts of these car makers to provide an excellent vehicle ownership experience."

View the full JD Power League table here (opens as a pdf)

SO IS IT AS GOOD AS THEY SAY?

THE Toyota Prius may be loved by environmentally concerned celebrities, but it has been trounced by other models in several surveys of the greenest cars.

The petrol-electric hybrid was launched in Japan in 1997 and named European Car of the Year when it launched here four years ago.

Leonardo DiCaprio arrived at last year's Oscars ceremony in one, while fellow Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz are among film star owners.

Hybrid cars are seen as greener because they are powered by batteries at low speeds and petrol at higher speeds.

However, the Prius was beaten by the diesel-engined Volkswagen Polo Blue Motion to the top spot in a government guide to greener motoring published last year.

The VW produces 99 grammes of per kilometre – five grammes fewer than the Prius.

The Prius, which has featured in the Scottish Government's ministerial fleet, also failed to make the top ten in the Environmental Transport Association buyers' guide to greenest cars last year.

It was marked down for poor pedestrian safety, scoring only 36 per cent in that category.

Consumer groups in the United States have criticised Toyota's fuel consumption claims for the Prius, but the car maker said everyone drove their car differently and Prius owners were more likely to watch mpg rates.