Hyundai ix35: moving up the customer satisfaction charts, thanks to innovative programmes such as the model swap to help waiting times for the 2.0 ix35 model

Editor’s Blog on the best car brands for customer service

WHEN it comes to delivering on customer satisfaction, a few car makers always stand out.

Lexus is one: an 11th year at the top of the J D Power/What Car? Customer Satisfaction Survey 2011 – quite an amazing record.

Weekly magazine Auto Express also runs a Driver Power survey measuring customer satisfaction – the 2011 result threw up similar results: Skoda beat Lexus for the second successive year. But the top four of each survey sounds familiar.

Lexus, Honda, Jaguar and Skoda – J D Power; and in the Auto Express Driver Power survey it’s Skoda, Lexus, Jaguar…and not Honda but Hyundai.

I think it’s worth keeping an eye on this brand – they’re obviously doing many things right – and with cars like the new Hyundai i40 Tourer estate and Saloon arriving soon, with class leading CO2 emissions for low company car tax, there’s plenty the company can do to further enhance its reputation with business car buyers.

Take this for example. The Hyundai ix35 SUV has been hugely popular. The demand for the 2.0 litre diesel has been overwhelming putting stress on buyers waiting for the new model.

So what did Hyundai do? Arranged for the first 200 customers on the waiting list to buy a 1.7 litre diesel model (on which there was more availability) then allowed those customers to part-exchange the 1.7 ix35 for the new 2.0 diesel when it became available – paying only the difference between the price they paid for the 1.7-litre and the price of the new 2.0-litre car as previously agreed with their dealer.

It didn’t stop there, though. Hyundai gave those customers