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Lexus has topped a survey on customer satisfaction for the 10th consecutive year. According to the JD Power 2010 Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study released today, Lexus has scored 84.6 per cent for satisfaction amongst its new car owners, followed by Honda (82.5 per cent), Jaguar (81.8 per cent), Mercedes-Benz (81.7 per cent) and Toyota (81.4 per cent).

The study measures customer satisfaction based on 67 attributes, including vehicle appeal (covering performance, design, comfort and features), vehicle quality and reliability, ownership costs and dealer service. Each manufacturer is given a score out of 1,000.

Most car makers have improved their rating compared with 2009, but the biggest winners were Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Nissan, which were up 19, 24 and 14 points respectively. Jaguar improved considerably from 2009, up 13 points.

Top scorers in each category:

City car: Toyota Aygo
Small car: Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris
Lower medium car: Kia Cee'd
Upper medium car: Honda Accord
Compact executive: Lexus IS
Executive/luxury: Jaguar XF
SUV: Lexus RX
MPV: Mercedes B-Class
Sportscar: Mazda MX-5

The study also found that vehicle owners with a satisfaction score of 900 or above are four times more likely to return to a dealer, while buyers who indicated they received an outstanding vehicle ownership experience are also three times more likely to purchase the same model again.

The 2010 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) is based on the evaluations of more than 17,000 online interviews from UK car owners after an average of two years of ownership.