News: Kia Sorento tops class in UK JD Power survey
News - Sorento is the only 4x4 to score the maximum '5-Star' rating - Sorento ranks 7th overall in 124 vehicle satisfaction league table (SEOUL) April 18, 2005 -- 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 7th overall. The Kia Sorento comfortably beat well-established products from Honda, Toyota and Nissan. With a customer satisfaction rating of 84%, the Sorento and its ownership experience were 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 purchased 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 7th -- outperforming its main 4x4 competitors who could only manage rankings in 13th, 15th, 16th and 27th places. JD Power Customer Satisfaction Index 2005 4x4s 1 Kia Sorento 5-Stars 84.0% 2 Honda CRV 4-Stars 83.1% 3 Hyundai Santa Fe 4-Stars 82.7% 4 Toyota RAV-4 4-Stars 82.5% 5 Nissan X-Trail 4-Stars 81.5% Kia Motors Corporation ( <http://autoway.kia.co.kr/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.kiamotors.com /> www.kiamotors.com) -- the fastest growing automaker in the world -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world's premier automotive brands. Kia's 16 manufacturing and assembly operations in 13 countries produce more than 1.1 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 155 countries. Kia today has 30,000 employees and annual revenues of $14 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.