Wednesday, Jun. 04, 2008

Top-ranked vehicles in J.D. Power's 2008 quality study

J.D. Power and Associates today released its annual survey of initial quality for 2008 model year vehicles, based on questionnaires from more than 81,500 new-vehicle owners.

These are the top performers and runners-up in each category. Activity vehicles refer to cross-overs and sport utility vehicles.

Sub-compact car: —Winner: Honda Fit —Runners-up: Kia Rio, Hyun-dai Accent

Compact car: —Winner: Honda Civic —Runners-up: Toyota Prius, Hyundai Elantra

Compact sporty car: —Winner: Mazda MX-5 Miata —Runners-up: Subaru Im-preza, Pontiac Solstice

Compact premium sporty car: —Winner: Mercedes Benz CLK-Class —Runners-up: Porsche Cay-man, Volvo C70

Entry premium car: —Winner: Infiniti EX-Series —Runners-up: Infiniti G-Series, Acura TSX, Volvo S40

Midsize car: —Winner: Chevrolet Malibu —Runners-up: Mitsubishi Galant, Ford Fusion

Midsize premium car: —Winner: Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Infiniti M-Series (tie) —Runners-up: Lexus ES 350, Audi A6

Large car: —Winner: Pontiac Grand Prix —Runners-up: Mercury Sable, Mercury Grand Marquis

Large premium car: —Winners: Lexus LS —Runner-up: Mercedes Benz S-Class, Cadillac DTS

Compact activity vehicle: —Winner: Honda CR-V —Runner-up: Chrysler PT Cruiser, Ford Escape

Midsize activity vehicle: —Winner: Dodge Durango —Runners-up: Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander

Midsize premium activity vehicle: —Winner: Lexus RX —Runners-up: Porsche Cay-enne, Lexus GX 470

Large activity vehicle: —Winner: Toyota Sequoia —Runners-up: Chevrolet Ta-hoe, GMC Yukon

Large premium activity vehi-cle: —Winner: Lincoln Navigator —Runners-up: Infiniti QX56, Cadillac Escalade

Midsize pickup: —Winner: Dodge Dakota —Runners-up: Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma

Large pickup: —Winner: Chevrolet Silverado LD —Runners-up: Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Avalanche

Van: —Winner: Ford E-Series —Runners-up: Nissan Quest, Chevrolet Express