KUALA LUMPUR: The Kia Sportage has secured first place in the 2016 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, earning the award for its quality and reliability.
In J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study, a long-term product quality survey conducted in Europe, the Kia Sportage stood out with an extremely low number of faults, measured by J.D. Power in problems per 100 cars (PP100).
The Kia Sportage’s result of 45 PP100 not only resulted in victory in the compact SUV segment, but also placed the car first among 68 models from 24 manufacturers in the overall ranking.
“Kia has received critical acclaim from JD Power throughout this year, ranking the brand the highest in JD Power USA’s Initial Quality study, placing Naza Kia Malaysia in fourth place in J.D. Power Malaysia’s Customer Service Index (CSI) Study and now first place in JD Power Europe’s Vehicle Dependability Study. This is a testament to the fact that we have the best auto designers, engineers and a dedicated team who are constantly improving the Kia brand. We have no doubt that this latest achievement will increase the Kia Sportage’s already encouraging sales and further strengthen its position as a premier SUV,” said Datuk Samson Anand George, group chief operating officer, automotive group, Naza Corp Holdings.
The Kia Sportage displayed no weaknesses in any of the study’s disciplines and in fact achieved the best ratings of any car in the categories for exterior, interior and air conditioning in the survey.
The Vehicle Dependability Study is conducted annually and is the largest long-term satisfaction survey of German car owners.
This year, J.D. Power surveyed 15,453 motorists.
Launched in Malaysia in May earlier this year and making its grand entrance into the East Malaysian market in August, the Kia Sportage offers breathtakingly distinct design, an attractive interior, cutting-edge technology and advanced features.
The Kia Sportage was also a proud winner at the 2016 ‘Red Dot Awards’ for Product Design and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's top award for Top Safety Pick+ in 2016.
It is the biggest selling model globally for Kia in 2016 with 349,431 units sold as of August 2016 year to date.
The Kia Sportage comes in two variants, the Kia Sportage Kx which is priced at RM121,888 on-the-road in Peninsular Malaysia and the Kia Sportage GT Line which is priced at RM141,888 on-the-road in Peninsular Malaysia.
Both come with five years warranty with unlimited mileage.
