Surveys put Suzuki on top shelf
Suzuki has received several acknowledgements in recent surveys of both new and used cars. The marque received a thumbs up in the latest 2019 British “What Car?” reliability survey where 18,000 vehicle owners report on running their cars for five years from new, as well as a separate poll of ownership of cars over five years old.
The marque’s five-door Celerio hatchback won the City and Small car class, with owners reporting 98.9 per cent reliability over a five year period. This was well ahead of the 94.7 per cent average reliability for the category.
Of the 31 brands measured, Suzuki ranked third in the league table with a score of 97.3 per cent. When ownership was measured from cars aged more than five years, Suzuki was second with 92 per cent.
The “What Car?” survey also rated the Suzuki Vitara highly, pictured above, with the popular and versatile compact five-door scoring 97.6 per cent in the owner poll for the small SUV category. This was comfortably ahead of the 93.3 per cent average result for the class.
“Long-term dependability is important for used car buyers and anyone wanting to keep their car for a long time. Suzuki is one of the few brands whose cars remain persistently reliable as the years pile on," says Steve Huntingford, “What Car?” editor.
Suzuki UK recently ranked the best car brand in the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index. The research asked 45,000 consumers to rate their experience and Suzuki ranked first out of 24 motor vehicle manufacturers.
In the institute’s survey, Suzuki scored strongly in several categories, including experience, customer ethos, emotional connection and ethics.
In a further survey, the number of problems Suzuki owners faced was reported to be well below the motor industry average. Warranty Direct in Britain named the Suzuki Jimny and Vitara as second and third most reliable SUV.
These results are reflected in the on-going demand for the product. Total new SUV sales in New Zealand year to date are down slightly on the same period in 2018 yet local Jimny sales, spurred on by the arrival of the new generation model, are up 16.4 per cent, and Vitara sales have risen 1.5 per cent.
In 2017 Suzuki was deemed the most reliable car in New Zealand, according to the Consumer New Zealand automotive survey. Last year Suzuki ranked tops with 97.7 percent in the “What Car?” reliability survey, followed by luxury brand Lexus (97.5 per cent) and Toyota (96.8 percent).
