High and lows of UK dependability
- Škoda tops first UK J.D. Power dependability study;
Only two ‘premium’ brands scored better than average; - Hacking prone infotainment systems biggest source of complaint;
- Two-thirds of victims would not repeat purchase affected brands.
BIG boy brands have been given a bloody nose by Škoda named as the most dependable badge on UK roads today.
It ranks as the top performer in J.D. Power’s inaugural UK vehicle dependability study beating all the usual reliability masters from Japan and Germany.
And to add insult to injury the only ‘premium’ brands with better than an industry average score was Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.
Topping the most common problems was the cars’ technology and infotainment packages, technology that has recently fallen foul of hackers in the US who took control of a Chrysler Jeep from a journalist test driver remotely cutting the engine, turning up the hi-fi and blasting cold air from the air-con system.
J.D. Power’s 2015 UK Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS) measured problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of vehicles in the UK after 12-36 months of ownership.
It examined 177 problem symptoms across eight categories:
- engine and transmission;
- vehicle exterior;
- driving experience;
- features/controls/displays;
- audio/communication/entertainment/navigation (ACEN);
- seats;
- heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC);
- vehicle interior.