Kia Sorento tops class in UK JD Power survey

In its first appearance in the UK's annual JD Power & Associates Customer Satisfaction Index survey, the Kia Sorento has scored a clear class victory with a triple achievement: best 4x4, only 4x4 with a '5-Star' rating and seventh overall.

With a customer satisfaction rating of 84%, the Sorento comfortably beat well-established products from Honda, Toyota and Nissan. Its ownership experience was described by JD Power associate WhatCar? magazine as "good or above average in seven of the eight survey categories... the cabin is practical, seats comfortable, styling attractive... dealers are helpful and polite... some of the lowest running-costs in the 4x4 class... a worthy winner".

According to Yong-Hwan Kim, senior executive vice president & COO of Kia Motors Corporation: "The introduction of the Sorento SUV to our line-up in 2002 took Kia Motors to a whole new level by redefining our brand as not just a maker of small, low-cost vehicles, and we have not looked back since.

"In 2004, the Sorento was our third leading seller globally with 106,269 units sold, and we expect this popular model to become our top seller in 2005 with nearly 121,000 units being delivered to customers. Kia has made giant steps to improve its entire model range in recent years and the JD Power survey results confirm that the Sorento is an immensely satisfying vehicle to own," commented Jean-Charles Lievens, senior vice-president of Kia Motors Europe.

The JD Power survey contacted 90,000 UK owners (selected at random) who bought new vehicles between September 2002 and August 2003. For a vehicle to appear in the survey at least 50 owners of that model had to complete and return the 70-question survey form.

The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) was calculated by JD Power from owners' assessments in eight categories: vehicle performance, interior comfort and practicality, exterior styling, mechanical, interior and exterior problems, dealer service and ownership costs.

In the all-vehicles overall league table of 124 models, the Kia Sorento ranked seventh - outperforming its main 4x4 competitors who could only manage rankings in 13th, 15th, 16th and 27th places.