New J.D. Power Study Finds Owners “More Passionate” About Their New Vehicles Than Ever Before

If you’ve purchased a new vehicle this past year, chances are that you’re happier with it than ever before – or so show the results of the 30^th annual J.D. Power APEAL study. It helps that initial quality is on the rise, but the annual owner survey also reveals a number of other reasons why buyers have grown increasingly passionate about their vehicles. Headlight.News explains.

Porsche, BMW and Mini came out on top in the 2025 J.D. Power APEAL study, an owner survey measuring just how passionate owners are about their new vehicles – and what, in the vernacular, turns them on.

One of the key findings: motorists are happier than ever, with the scores in all 10 individual categories rising for the first time in nearly a decade.

“Manufacturers have made significant advancements that continue to redefine the vehicle ownership experience and have become more adept at translating innovation into meaningful customer engagement,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power.

What’s the APEAL?

The J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study – mercifully abbreviated as APEAL – measures how positive an experience new vehicles deliver during the first 90 days of ownership. There are 10 categories, including design, comfort, performance and usability.

The study offers a very different take when compared to Power’s annual Initial Quality Study, or IQS, which focuses solely on the things that have gone wrong during those first 90 days. It’s not unusual for brands that score poorly on the IQS to do quite well in their APEAL scores. EV brands Porsche and Tesla are consistent examples.

Among all 10 categories, the biggest improvement in satisfaction levels came with fuel economy, up 13 points from the 2024 APEAL study. Infotainment and interior scores each rose 6 points this year, Power noted in a summary of the results.

Winners…

Porsche was the top-ranked brand overall, according to Power, with a score of 890 out of a possible 1,000 points. It was also tops in the luxury category. Mini, meanwhile, was number one in the mainstream category with a score of 876.

But BMW could claim another significant achievement, with more winners in individual product segments than any other brand. The BMW X6, meanwhile, was the highest-ranked individual model.

In a sense, Rivian and Tesla turned in solid performances, as well. Their scores were marked with asterisks as Power analysts were unable to get data on owners in some states, potentially skewing the results. Had their partial results held up, Rivian would have been the big winner, with a score of 896 points, Tesla also topping Porsche at 892.

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…And losers

Notably, the gap between the winners and the losers wasn’t as wide as in some years, leading Power to suggest that automakers, on the whole, are doing a better job than ever at finding ways to surprise and delight new vehicle buyers.

That said, Audi was the bottom-ranked brand in the luxury category, with a score of just 850. In the mainstream category, Chrysler took the booby prize, scoring just 813 points.

The study found that plug-in hybrid owners were, on the whole, the least satisfied, with a score of 855 points. But that was up 14 points from the 2024 study. EVs scored a slightly better 860 points. That was a year-over drop of 17 points, however. (And it didn’t include the partial results from Tesla which would have raised the overall EV results.)

The study also found that carryover vehicles generally delivered higher levels of satisfaction than all-new or significantly updated products. That matched the findings in the IQS study reflecting the common problem of first-year defects.

Surprise and delight factors

The study reveals that buyers are generally pleased with the new technology the latest vehicles offer – when it works, at least. The gaps are “especially pronounced,” Power said, in areas like infotainment systems.

Electrified models did do well in the fuel economy category, buyers pleased with the numbers they’re seeing from their hybrids and plug-ins.

“Another surprise,” noted Power’s summary, “is the popularity of user profiles. The study shows 55% of vehicle owners are creating user profiles in their vehicle for customized and stored settings, if possible. Owners with profiles set up had higher scores for emotional satisfaction.”

The 2025 J.D. Power APEAL study was based on responses from 92,964 owners of new 2025 model year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.