Search CarGuide.PH

July 27, 2025

Porsche Is The Most "APEAL-ing" Brand To Own For Second Consecutive Year


The most “APEAL-ing” cars have just been revealed as J.D. Power publishes the result of their 2025 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study. The study measures the owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle. The APEAL Study asks owners to consider 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to their exhilaration when they step on the accelerator. Vehicle owners’ responses to queries about these attributes are aggregated to compute an overall APEAL Index score.

The 2025 U.S. APEAL Study is based on responses from 92,964 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study was fielded from June 2024 through May 2025 based on vehicles registered from March 2024 through February 2025.

Overall satisfaction is 851 (on a 1,000-point scale), an increase of 4 index points from a year ago and the highest level since the study was last redesigned in 2020. Scores in all 10 categories in the study improve compared with last year—an achievement for the industry that has not occurred in almost a decade. The gains are led by a 13-point improvement in satisfaction with fuel economy, followed by infotainment and interior, which each increase by 6 points.

Porsche has been ranked number one in the premium segment—the second consecutive year they’ve earned the top position and the fifth since 2020. In addition, the Taycan earned the title for best-in-class in the Upper Midsize Premium Car Segment for the third consecutive year and the 911 earned the top spot in the Premium Sporty Car category.

Meanwhile, among mass market brands, Mini ranked highest followed by Dodge and GMC.

On the flipside, Acura and Audi were the lowest ranked premium brands, while Chrysler, Mazda, and Subaru were the lowest ranked mainstream brands.

According to this year’s study, premium brands outpace mass market brands in emotional satisfaction gains. While emotional satisfaction among owners of mass market brands improves 2 points, it rises 11 points among owners of premium vehicles, largely driven by Tesla. The brand has achieved a year-over-year improvement of 20 points or more across all categories in the study, with the exception of powertrain (+6 points), which has consistently remained its area of greatest strength.

One reason why premium brands are found to be more appealing is down to their capability of creating individual profiles. Just over half—55 percent—of vehicle owners are creating individual user profiles in their vehicle—features that allow personalization of settings such as seat position and climate control. The study reveals that premium vehicle owners are adopting this feature at twice the rate of mass market owners, and that when profiles are set up, owners across both segments cite increased emotional satisfaction.

Owners of carryover models express more emotional affinity for their vehicle than do owners of new-model launches (852 vs. 846, respectively) for a second consecutive year. The largest satisfaction gaps for launch vehicles are in vehicle setup/startup (via the app) and infotainment—gaps that are especially pronounced in the premium segment, where carryover models score 48 points higher for setup/startup and 26 points higher for infotainment.

The study also indicates that among new-vehicle owners, internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicles deliver more consistent satisfaction, while plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) exhibit greater year-over-year fluctuations. Notably, satisfaction among owners of BEVs (860, excluding Tesla) drops 17 points from a year ago when comparing across fuel types, while PHEVs (855) improve 14 points. Customers indicate that PHEVs and hybrids hit the sweet spot for pleasing them with regard to fuel economy, range and charging speed.

J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study

Premium Brands
  1. Porsche (890)
  2. Land Rover (886)
  3. BMW (881)
  4. Jaguar (877)
  5. Lincoln (870)
  6. Mercedes-Benz (870)
  7. Genesis (869)
  8. Cadillac (868)
  9. Lexus (864)
  10. Volvo (859)
  11. Infiniti (856)
  12. Acura (851)
  13. Audi (850)
Mass Market Brands
  1. MINI (876)
  2. Dodge (868)
  3. GMC (852)
  4. Hyundai (850)
  5. RAM (847)
  6. Kia (845)
  7. Volkswagen (845)
  8. Chevrolet (844)
  9. Mitsubishi (844)
  10. Buick (840)
  11. Toyota (839)
  12. Ford (838)
  13. Nissan (837)
  14. Jeep (836)
  15. Honda (833)
  16. Subaru (832)
  17. Mazda (828)
  18. Chrysler (813)
Share this on:
Filed Under: , , , ,

1 comment:

Feel free to comment or share your views. Comments that are derogatory and/or spam will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to moderate and/or remove comments.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)