IntelliChoice and AutoPacific Announce the 2014 Motorist Choice Awards

IRVINE, CA -- Sept. 24, 2014: Notable automotive industry research companies IntelliChoice and AutoPacific today announced the winners of the 2014 Motorist Choice Awards. Now in its ninth year, this respected award is given to the vehicles that deliver the highly sought after combination of high consumer satisfaction and lower-than-expected ownership costs over time.

“By paying attention to these buying patterns, and incorporating our satisfaction data and IntelliChoice’s cost of ownership insights, we can offer sound advice to consumers across all vehicle segments.”

The Motorist Choice Awards have been designed to best represent the most relevant lifestyle categories with which shoppers can identify. As a result, IntelliChoice and AutoPacific categorized the winners into 13 segment lifestyle categories, such as Active Lifestyle, High Image, People Mover and Eco Friendly. Each category also covers two market segments, Popular and Premium, to highlight models that fit into the two distinct price points. Both reflect the purpose and perception of the consumer and illustrate the results of practical analysis, such as total cost of ownership, fuel economy and resale value.

Three manufacturers tie for top awards this year, each with five category wins: Toyota Corporation, last year’s leading winner, General Motors and Nissan Motor Co. All three manufacturers benefited from their brand differentiation and segment variation, gaining wins in multiple categories across both the Popular and Premium market segments.

Four vehicles are repeat winners from 2013, including the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Nissan cube, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and Hyundai Equus, which gets its third win in a row for Popular Luxury Lifestyle. The MINI Cooper Coupe had multiple category wins, winning in both the Popular Fun to Drive and Popular High Image categories, as did the Chevrolet Suburban, winning Popular Cargo Hauler and Popular Road Trip, and Cadillac Escalade, winning Premium People Mover and Premium Road Trip. General Motors swept both the People Mover and Road Trip categories.

The winner’s list also contains three all-new vehicles: Honda Accord Hybrid/Plug-In, BMW 3 Series GT and Infiniti Q50 Hybrid.

Each year, AutoPacific performs the broadest and most widely followed owner satisfaction survey in the U.S. This results in consumer feedback from more than 92,000 new vehicle buyers on a recently purchased 2014 vehicle. Using 50 key attributes covering the entire ownership experience, AutoPacific calculates overall buyer satisfaction for individual models and vehicle classes and announces its annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) based on the findings.

Concurrently, IntelliChoice constantly monitors and updates the cost of ownership metrics for more than 2,000 model trim lines to give valuable insight into the financial impact of ownership over a five year period. This analysis is the foundation of the IntelliChoice Best Overall Value of the Year (BOVY) awards, announced each January, and its interim Best Deals Awards, which show case top values on a monthly basis, considering changing economic factors such as fuel costs, price changes and rebates.

The Motorist Choice Awards combine complementary analyses from both firms into one set of accolades representing vehicles that earn high marks on both sets of criteria. Thirteen unique vehicle categories were defined by the needs and usage type sought out by new-vehicle buyers and named appropriately based on recommendations from a panel of consumers. The firms then use this consumer data to determine winners in the Popular and Premium brand groupings. This methodology provides a superior means of evaluating “Best in Class” vehicles that align consumer shopping patterns with probability for both satisfaction and value.

“Combining the AutoPacific consumer survey data with the IntelliChoice cost of ownership data is a great benefit to consumers,” said Eric Anderson, Ownership Cost Database Supervisor for IntelliChoice. “Whether you are looking for an eco-friendly vehicle, performance car, or people mover, the Motorist Choice Awards help shoppers choose a vehicle that fits their lifestyle and financial bottom line. Based on our research, we’re proud to recommend these vehicles to consumers.”

“Buyers look for a vehicle based on their usage needs and emotional desires,” said Daniel Hall, Vice-President of AutoPacific. “By paying attention to these buying patterns, and incorporating our satisfaction data and IntelliChoice’s cost of ownership insights, we can offer sound advice to consumers across all vehicle segments.”

For more details on these categories and the winning vehicles, please visit IntelliChoice and AutoPacific .