2020 Kia Forte GT The strange trio of BMW, Chevrolet and Kia took home most of the hardware in this years annual J.D. Power Initial Quality Study awards, with American and Korean brands generally making quite the sweep.The J.D. Power quality ratings and awards are based on feedback from more than 75,000 verified vehicle owners who have owned or leased their new rig for a minimum of 90 days.This rating focuses on problems experienced by these verified owners and has, over the years, been a good predictor of long-term durability.Rankings are easy to decipher: the fewer the problems, the better the score. Some folks rag on this award saying that 90 day-old cars are supposed to be trouble-free. However, anyone whos bought or leased a new car only to have it spend days and weeks in the shop know thats not always what happens.This year, there were 22 segment award recipients, listed alphabetically here by J.D. Power. Would it surprise you to learn that over one-third of them are brands from the Detroit Three automakers? Its true.The Ford Fusion, for example, continues to garner accolades despite currently residing in deaths nursery. It tied with the Chevy Malibu to rank highest in the midsize car segment. Youll notice the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are nowhere to be found.The large-and-in-charge full-size SUVs from General Motors also took home awards in their respective categories, with the Chevy Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade being singled out by J.D. Power for IQS greatness. Lexus GX? Mercedes G-Wagen? Nope.However, Lexus did appear as winner in the midsize premium SUV class, expressive face and all.In addition, more than a quarter of the segment award winners were cars from Korean brands. Hyundais popular Sante Fe earned a gold sticker for initial quality in midsize SUVs, boding well for the utility given it is newly packed with gee-whiz tech such as advanced safety systems.Kias Sedona, Forte, Rio and Sportage were all champs in their respective classes. Toss in a win by Genesis for top premium compact car with its G70 and the Koreans certainly have something to boast
Origin: BMW, Chevrolet and Kia models top their segments in 2019 J.D. Power study