Suzuki secures top ratings
Suzuki NZ has scooped this year’s Canstar Blue’s customer satisfaction new-car award.
The company received five stars in all categories, earning more top ratings from its customers than the other 10 car brands in the survey combined.
Other marques included – in order of Canstar ranking – Mazda, Toyota, Ford, Kia, Audi, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and BMW.
Gary Collins, general manager of automotive marketing for Suzuki NZ, says: “We are clearly delighted to have won the Canstar Blue Award once again.
“The fact Suzuki received the maximum of five stars in all categories is a testament to our loyal customers, reliable range, and dedicated team of dealerships and service centres nationwide.
“We are also pleased to see Suzuki was the only brand to score a maximum five stars in the value-for-money category. We have mastered making a little go a long way with our innovative and quality range, providing affordable new cars for New Zealanders.”
Canstar is an independent consumer advice organisation that covers more than 30,000 products and services. It's funded by lead referrals, advertising, subscriptions and award licensing.
For the new-car award, buyers rated their new vehicles across six categories comprising overall satisfaction with the car, after-sales service, driving experience, point-of-sale service, reliability and value.
Bruce Pitchers, editor of Canstar Blue, says Suzuki achieved a “quite remarkable set of perfect five-star ratings” across the award categories.
“No other car brand earned a five-star rating for overall satisfaction. In total, only three other car brands earned the five-star rating at all and then only one apiece.
For those surveyed, the most important features and considerations when purchasing a new car were price at 21 per cent, safety features and safety rating on 18 per cent, functionality – also on 18 per cent, and fuel economy with 12 per cent.
Mazda took out second place on Canstar Blue’s ratings table. “Its customers rate it highly across all measures of satisfaction, awarding the Japanese car manufacturer great four-star ratings across all our award categories”.
Toyota came third and is described as “one of the nation’s top-selling car brands, comprising around 15 per cent of the market. It earns four stars for overall satisfaction, a rating it achieves in all but one category, after-sale service, for which it earns a fantastic five-star rating”.
