Johannesburg - The results of the 2015 Ipsos Product Quality survey of the motor industry, released this week, show that the number of problems experienced by South African purchasers of new vehicles continues to drop.
Which, considering that the cars we buy become more complex with every new model, says a lot for the level of quality control both at the manufacturing stage and at the pre-delivery inspection carried out by the dealers.
There are some manufacturers and distributers who have declined to participate in the survey but this study of vehicles sold from January to December 2014 covers more than 83 percent of South Africa's annuals sales volume. It was carried out through telephone interviews with more than 30 000 vehicles owners, as close as possible to 90 days after date of purchase.
The unit of measurement is PP100 - problems per 100 vehicles. Sometimes the sample is too small to be representative and that brand or model isn't listed. Of those who are, however, the best performers have been recognised with gold silver or bronze awards, while discretionary platinum awards are given for consistent excellence over a number of years.
The industry average has remained between 30 and 40 PP100 since 2011, which is a huge improvement on the average 154 problems recorded in 2005.
NEW MODELS
Top-ranked first-timer among the luxury passenger cars was the Lexus ES with a PP100 of just 10, while the best-performing volume passenger newbie was the re-launched Nissan Sentra on 23. The best new recreational vehicle was Kia's Sorento on 22 and the best new light commercial was the Nissan Hardbody petrol double cab on 24.
TOP DOGS
Toyota fared particularly very well in the latest study, especially with its bakkies, topping the score-sheets for overall light commercials with a PP100 score of 33, one-ton double cabs with 33 and locally manufactured light commercials with 31.
Toyota was also the best-scoring volume passenger car brand at 31 PP100, and tied with Mercedes-Benz in the category for locally-built passenger cars on 25 problems per 100 vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz continued to be a quality leader, topping the standings in the luxury passenger car category with a PP100 score of 26. The E-Class came out as the best executive model on 17, while the A-Class was the most improved luxury passenger car with a PP100 score of 22, compared to 39 in 2014.
It was closely followed by the Audi A3/S3, which improved from 38 to 22, and the Ford Focus hatch, which was the most improved volume passenger car, from 59 to 29. The most improved recreational vehicle was the Kia Sportage (from 55 to 24) and the most improved light commercial the Nissan Navara diesel double cab (from 56 to 24).
The best sports coupé was the Mercedes-Benz with an excellent PP100 score of only 13, while the Audi A3/S3 Sedan (22), Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla (tied on 23) topped the volume sedan score-sheet.
The Chevrolet Sonic Sedan (24) and Nissan Almera (26) narrowly led the small sedan category, while the Toyota Auris on 19 was a clear winner in the overall hatch category. The Kia Rio, Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris were tied at the top of the small hatch category on 25 each, and the Volkswagen Polo Vivo was the highest-ranked entry-level car with a PP100 score of 30.
The Toyota Avanza (24) was the best MPV, with the Volkswagen Tiguan (13) rated as the best small recreational vehicle and the Audi Q7 (13) as the best large recreational vehicle.
COMMERCIALS
Here Nissan and Toyota were the clear leaders - the Nissan Hardbody (24) was the best petrol double cab and the Nissan Navara the best diesel double cab, also with 24 problems per 100 vehicles.
Toyota, one the other hand, dominated the single cab score-sheet, nailing both petrol (26) and diesel (31) categories.
The best of the three-quarter tonners, however, was the Nissan NP200, with a disappointing PP100 score of 45 - which is still less than a third of the industry average 10 years ago.
And that's possibly the best indication of how far the South African motor industry has come in those 10 years.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL IPSOS PRESENTATION
Dear IOL reader, we're closing comments
* E-mail your opinion to [email protected] and we will consider it for publication, or use our Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.