Hyundai Motor India's Santro, Ford India's Ikon and Toyota Kirloskar's Qualis have been declared the most problem-free vehicles in the premium compact, entry-level mid-size and multi-utility vehicle segments, respectively, in the JD Power Asia Pacific 2002 initial quality study.
The annual customer survey, which measures IQS in terms of problems per 100 vehicles, found that the Santro, Ikon and Qualis recorded just 106, 126 and 185 PP100 respectively. The industry average in these three segments was 147, 154 and 246 PP100 respectively.
In the premium compact segment, Maruti Udyog's Alto and WagonR were the other models to record less problems than industry average, with 114 and 123 PP100 respectively. In the mid-size segment, Hyundai Accent and Maruti Esteem recorded 130 and 164 PP100 respectively.
The JD Power survey did not release the names of vehicles, which recorded more problems than industry average in the premium compact and entry mid-size segments.
In the MUV segment, while Mahindra & Mahindra's Bolero recorded 221 PP100 (better than industry average), while Tata Engineering's Safari recorded 297 PP100 (worse than industry average).
In a press statement, Gerrit Kuyntjes, general manager, JD Power Asia Pacific (Singapore) said, "The renewed pace of improvement of vehicle IQS in India is impressive. As PP100 continues to fall, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the rate of improvement we've been seeing. However, competition among manufacturers and suppliers to continually improve initial quality by addressing the entire quality management process not only benefits consumers, but also contributes to increased customer satisfaction and brand loyalty."
While the Santro's PP100 has improved 24 per cent over the same parameter in 2001, the Qualis' PP100 has improved by 7 points over 2001, the statement said.
The 2002 JD Power survey based its evaluations from 3,000 new vehicle owners of 29 models from 13 manufacturers.
The study measured vehicle quality in the first 3-5 months of ownership, and quantified problems in nine categories ride/ handling/ braking, features/ controls, seats, HVAC (heating, ventilation & cooling), sound system, exteriors, interiors, engine and transmission.
In the JD Power Asia Pacific 2002 India Automotive Performance Execution and Layout study, Santro, Palio and Alto were the top three vehicles in the premium compact segment, scoring 789, 778 and 771 points respectively, against an industry average of 767 points.
In the mid-sized entry segment, Accent and Ikon scored 779 and 772 points, respectively, above the industry average APEAL score of 768 points.wever, Esteem scored 762, below industry average. On the other hand, Qualis, Bolero and Safari scored 778, 768 and 759 points, respectively, against an industry average APEAL score of 742 points.