J.D. Power Reveals Most Appealing and Satisfying Car Brands in 2025
New vehicle owner satisfaction continues to increase and these owners are more passionate about their vehicles than ever.
That’s the main takeaway from J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study released this week, based on responses from nearly 100,000 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.
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The study asked 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.
“Manufacturers have made significant advancements that continue to redefine the vehicle ownership experience and have become more adept at translating innovation into meaningful customer engagement,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “However, the study finds that owners of new models have lower levels of satisfaction with vehicle setup and startup—as well as infotainment systems—compared with owners of carryover models. This suggests that increasing technology and menu complexity remain persistent challenges for the industry.”
ICE vs. Hybrid vs. EV
Interestingly, the 2025 APEAL study indicates that internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles deliver more consistent satisfaction among new owners, while plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles exhibit greater year-over-year fluctuations. In fact, satisfaction among owners of BEVs (excluding Tesla) dropped significantly from a year ago.
Furthermore, J.D. Power found that owners of carryover models express more emotional affinity for their vehicle than do owners of brand new models, likely because the latter often experience early quality issues and bugs.
Top Brands in 2025
J.D. Power also noted that the gap between mass-market and luxury brands has slightly widened over the past year, with the latter still stirring more emotions than the former.
When looking at the entire auto industry, Porsche once again ranks number one with a score of 890 points out of a possible 1,000. Despite a poor reputation for reliability, Land Rover (882) is second, followed by BMW (881), as the following chart shows:
Keep in mind that Rivian (896) and Tesla (892) would come out on top if they could meet all the eligibility criteria of J.D. Power's APEAL study.
MINI still ranks highest among mass-market brands with a score of 876. Dodge (868), which held this position from 2021 to 2023 but dropped to ninth in 2024, now ranks second. GMC (852) is third:
You know what else hasn’t changed for 2025? Several Japanese brands along with Chrysler find themselves at the bottom of the rankings.
Incidentally, the BMW X6 is the highest-ranking individual model across all categories in 2025. Check out the J.D. Power website to see the complete list.
