Yesterday, I reported that the Lincoln Navigator achieved a pretty magnificent status award as the highest rated of any model in J.D. Power’s latest APEAL Study. The APEAL Study is based on “new vehicle owners’ assessments of the design, content, layout, and performance of their new vehicle after 90 days of ownership.” It’s certainly one of the more democratic ways to determine what great, fun, beautiful cars are on currently on the market.
That very big, very excellent SUV from Lincoln is not alone, however — many other vehicles are among the elite. Among them are the 11 below as well as many others.
J.D. Power’s APEAL Study takes customer feedback into account in order to rank current vehicles in terms of “automotive performance, execution and layout.” The 10 categories considered are exterior, seats, interior, driving dynamics, storage and space, engine and transmission, fuel economy, visibility and safety, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and overall audio, communications, entertainment and navigation systems. You can read more about the study here if you like charts and some extra detail, but suffice it to say the cars, trucks and SUVs that took home awards are among the most satisfying to own and drive. As you can see below, we certainly agree on many fronts.
To me, the best part of this APEAL Study survey is that it speaks to what our readers tend to think is important in car ownership (if your reading habits are any indication, at least). No vehicles below are boring, none are really all that pretentious either. What they are is uncompromising in their pursuit of enjoyment and driving pleasure, design and comfort, appropriate technology and reasonable cost. In short, they are appealing for very solid, measurable reasons, as you’ll no doubt agree.
APEAL Study Cars
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