Kia Sportage victory in 2014 J.D. Power VOSS

The Kia Sportage has triumphed in the J.D. Power 2014 Germany Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study, being awarded first place in the hard-fought ‘Compact SUV’ category. The report, which rates cars and manufacturers in the German market according to overall driver satisfaction, also lists a number of other Kia models – including the popular cee’d and Rio models – and sees Kia enter the top 10 list of manufacturers for the first time. 

The study surveyed more than 18,000 German drivers with a highly-detailed online survey to establish their levels of satisfaction with their cars. Drivers were asked to rate their vehicle’s quality, reliability, attractiveness and running costs. 

The Sportage, scoring 83.6% driver satisfaction, is the most satisfying Compact SUV to own and sixth most satisfying car overall, according to the study, while the cee’d (second in the ‘Compact’ category, with 81.2%), Rio (third in the ‘Small Car’ category with 81.3%), and Venga (fourth in the ‘Small MPV’ category with 77.4%) were all rated highly by owners for satisfaction. 

In the overall manufacturer chart, Kia rose to 10^th place, climbing five places from its 2013 position, which was itself a rise from 17^th in 2012, showing long-term progress in customer satisfaction levels for the brand. 

Artur Martins, Vice President Marketing, Kia Motors Europe, commented, “The influential J.D. Power Report gives motorists a chance to let the rest of the world know how satisfying their cars are to run on a day-to-day basis. The Kia Sportage has been incredibly popular with motorists since it went on sale, and this result is proof of its long-term appeal and the improving quality of – and customer satisfaction with – Kia’s brand and products.” 

The Sportage is Kia’s best-selling model in Europe, with 89,553 units sold in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent. Built at Kia’s Žilina plant in Slovakia, the enhanced Kia Sportage went on sale across Europe earlier this year.