Used car owner satisfaction

If a vehicle does something notable, it tends to make its owner happy. And more often than not, sporty vehicles and those with excellent fuel economy rise to the top in owner satisfaction.

Sporty cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the Porsche 911 and Boxster, and some fuel-efficient models like the Toyota Prius, have very strong owner satisfaction scores year over year.

But among other vehicles the pleasure of ownership often dips after 3 years, and sometimes plummets by the 5th year of ownership.

Each year Consumer Reports asks the following question on our Annual Auto Survey: "Considering all factors (price, performance, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc.), would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?"

Respondents have four choices, from "definitely yes" to "definitely no." For 3- and 5-year-old models (2006 & 2008 model years), we tallied the percentage of respondents from our 2010 survey who said they would definitely get the same car again.

Among the three-year-old cars, a few specialty models stood out with high satisfaction scores. While only the Corvette and two Porsches scored above 80 percent, the turbodiesel, 4WD versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, the Chevrolet Avalanche, and the Honda Ridgeline pickup trucks, all scored highly. So too did the affordable and fuel-efficient Honda Fit. Another notable standout is the Ford Fusion V6, in both front- and all-wheel drive. Owners gave this reliable sedan high marks in satisfaction.

Owners become more picky, however, when vehicles reach 5 years old. At that point in time repair costs may increase and that new car smell has disappeared. Sports cars and fuel-efficient models were still tops. Joining the Porsches and Corvette is the Honda S2000 roadster, all with scores above 80 percent. Among fuel-efficient cars, the fiveyear- old Prius bests that mark, with the diesel version of the Volkswagen Jetta falling just at the 80 percent threshold. The Honda Ridgeline pickup and 4WD version of the Toyota 4Runner, two other niche models, were also top performers.

One constant over both years in the survey is that models that perform poorly in Consumer Reports' testing often fall at or near the bottom in owner satisfaction. Models such as the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks, Pontiac Torrent and Jeep Liberty small SUVs, and Chevrolet Cobalt sedan have some of the worst owner satisfaction scores among all 2006 and 2008 vehicles. These models often have both low test scores and below-average reliability.

Note, however, that owner satisfaction and reliability scores are not always in sync. While reliability influences satisfaction, there are other factors, such as handling, comfort, features, styling, size, and even image, that impact satisfaction scores. Therefore, some cars like the Porsche 911 and Corvette get high satisfaction scores yet have some years with below-average reliability.

5-year-old (2006) models

3-year-old (2008) models