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Chevy Volt Tops Consumer Reports' Owner-Satisfaction Survey

High-tech, high-price electric vehicle edges out Porsche 911, Dodge Challenger.

By Joshua Condon Dec 1, 2011 9:14AM

The Chevy Volt. (Photo by General Motors.)As part of its annual owner-satisfaction survey, Consumer Reports asks car owners,  “Considering all factors (price, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.), would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?” The vehicle that garnered the most answers of "definitely yes" wasn't the iconic Porsche 911 or the visceral V8-powered Dodge Challenger muscle car, but the high-tech Chevrolet Volt, priced at around $40,000.

A whopping 93 percent of Volt owners said they would definitely buy the car again, compared with 91 percent each for the second-place 911 and Challenger. Of the 27 models that received Consumer Reports' top owner-satisfaction rating -- meaning at least 80 percent of owners responded that they would definitely buy their vehicle again -- nine were hybrids or diesel models, while 12 were sporty cars or convertibles.

Of course, Consumer Reports' survey results come with two caveats:

Overall, 10 models each from America and Europe received the highest rating, as did seven Asian models. Audi, Chevy and Ford tied as the manufacturers with the most models receiving the highest rating, with four apiece.

The Chevy Aveo, Chevy Colorado and the all-wheel-drive Toyota Matrix were the only vehicles to receive Consumer Reports' lowest rating, meaning less than half the respondents indicated they would buy the vehicle again.

You can read Consumer Reports' full press release after the jump.

YONKERS, NY—The Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid that has an advanced but unproven powertrain, and carries a $40,000 sticker price, is now the top-scoring model in Consumer Reports’ latest annual owner-satisfaction survey.

Ninety-three percent of respondents who own the Volt said they would definitely buy it again, making it the highest-rated car in the nationally representative survey. The Volt narrowly edged out the V8-powered Dodge Challenger and the Porsche 911, each with owner-satisfaction scores of 91 percent.

Though the Volt’s high score reflects the excitement surrounding GM’s new electric/gasoline drivetrain, it comes with a caveat. The model had been in showrooms for only a few months when Consumer Reports’ survey was conducted, and it remains to be seen if the score will hold up as the car rolls out to a wider audience and owners spend more time with their vehicles. Still, early adopters of a new technology tend to be among the most enthusiastic buyers.

Consumer Reports’ car owner satisfaction survey was conducted prior to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announcement that it would conduct a safety investigation into plug-in hybrid sedans following an incident with a Chevrolet Volt catching fire after being crash tested.

“These models reflect a larger trend we’ve seen in recent years: Sporty cars and fuel efficient cars with alternative drivetrains tend to generate more enthusiasm and loyalty than most other types of vehicles,” said Rik Paul, Consumer Reports automotive editor.

For each of  the 27 models that got Consumer Reports top owner satisfaction rating—at least 80 percent of  respondents said they’d definitely buy the car again—12 were sporty cars or convertibles and nine were hybrids or diesels.

Brand nationality doesn’t seem to be a factor among the top-rated models. The 27 models with the highest rating include 10 American, 10 European, and seven Asian models. Audi, Chevrolet, and Ford were tied with four models each on the top list.

Consumer Reports owner-satisfaction survey, which drew responses from more than 314,000 subscribers on 2009 through 2012 model year vehicles, is based on the results from Consumer Reports Annual Auto Survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Scores are based on the percentage of respondents who answered “definitely yes” to the following question: “Considering all factors (price, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.), would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?”

Other fuel-efficient models that earned Consumer Reports top ratings include a number of  hybrids, such as the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Lexus CT 200h and RX 450h, and Toyota Prius, as well as diesel versions of the BMW X5 and Volkswagen Golf and Jetta Sportwagen.

Sporty models that did well include the supercharged Audi S4, Audi A5 and S5, Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, Ford Mustang GT, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Mini Cooper Convertible.

The appeal of power also extends into mainstream models, as owners of turbocharged versions are often more satisfied than owners of conventional versions of the same car. Although the Ford Flex and Hyundai Sonata, for example, are generally well liked, only their turbocharged versions earned Consumer Reports’ top owner satisfaction scores.

Small cars, lower-priced small and midsized SUVs, minivans, and compact pickup trucks tended to score much lower as a group.

This year, only three models received Consumer Reports lowest rating, which means that fewer than half of the respondents said they would definitely buy the car again. They are the Chevrolet Aveo (37 %), all-wheel-drive Toyota Matrix (43 %), and Chevrolet Colorado pickup (47 %).

Full Consumer Reports’ owner satisfaction survey findings are available online at www.ConsumerReports.​org now. Findings will also be in the January issue of Consumer Reports magazine, which goes on sale December 6.

Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. Using its more than 50 labs, auto test center, and survey research center, the nonprofit rates thousands of products and services annually. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has over 8 million subscribers to its magazine, website and other publications.  Its advocacy division, Consumers Union, works for health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace.


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64Comments
kirkh
Dec 1, 2011 11:09AM
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Well, of course, its an electric car. No, I don't mean that in that electric cars are awesome, but I'm saying that the people that would buy that are either more interested in the money that they think they are saving by not buying gas (even though they don't really make financial sense right now) or they are one of those people that think that they are saving the planet because they are using less gas.

 

Time will tell on this one. I'm VERY interesting in reading reviews of people that buy a 2nd/3rd hand Volt with 100,000+ miles and what their experiences are over the next 100,000 miles. Are they going to have to spend $10k+ on a new battery? What about the regular-car-stuff like the gas engine, transmission and all of that? You have a whole lot that can fail on something like this and the previous version (EV1) was literally crushed because of serious flaws so that should worry some Volt owners.

 

I can't wait to see what will happen to electric/alternative​ vehicles over the next decade, but I think its WAY too premature to call this the best car on the market.

Realist431
Dec 1, 2011 11:19AM
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How did they find enough Volt owners to complete the survey?
Uncle G
Dec 1, 2011 11:47AM
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They should have asked the question of the Volt owners,  "Would you buy this car again, without a huge government handout"?  
Someone
Dec 1, 2011 11:21AM
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As a Volt owner I was not approached about my opinion on whether I would purchase the car again. My answer is an emphatic YES! Best car I've ever owned. Seems to me that GM finally got it right
VICIOUS MISANTHROPE HATING FOR SPORT
Dec 1, 2011 12:47PM
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Great survey..............​....why not ask who in Seattle is a Seahawks fan, duhhhhhhhh?

 

An owner of new technology that says he is unhappy is almost like asking if he thought he was stupid to buy it!

DieHardCentrist
Dec 1, 2011 11:41AM
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@VoltGuy - please remember where the electricity comes from, unless your utility is completely hydro.  It comes from coal or natural gas, which are admittedly domestic, but are still polluters.
BeeInKC9
Dec 1, 2011 12:52PM
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I know one I wouldn't buy again - the Honda Accord. The seats are too hard. There is too much wind and road noise. Overall it is a very nice car that I find uncomfortable. I had good experiences with 1993 and 1998 Accords. I used those experiences as a basis for my purchasing decision and did not notice the discomfort on the short test drive. I seriously considered trading it in after owning it less than two weeks. Never again.
JHR77084
Dec 1, 2011 10:01PM
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These people have never OWNED a Porsche nor have they driven one (and I am not even a Porsche owner). The two cars are in completely different classes, as are the people that would buy either one.

What a joke this article is.

CRJ_Pilot
Dec 1, 2011 3:26PM
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You beat me to the punch JJS and frumple. I was just about to post a link on the buyback.
Betcha Porsche doesn't offer a buyback, let alone all the other companies listed. But it sounds SO much better to make a government-funded Obama success story with GM, doesn't it?

After what GM did to it stockholders,

The Obama administration did it to the stockholders, not GM. GM gladly bent over and took the Obama bailout suppository. They will, of course, claim they paid back their bailout funds. They did not. They paid their debt back only with taxpayer funds laying around in a TARP escrow, NOT by profits as they - and Democrats including Obama himself - insinuate. If you pay off your Visa with your MasterCard, do you consider that paying your debt off? But Obama and libs/Dems won't tell you that "rest of the story." We just hit $15 trillion in debt. How about that rest of the story.

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