Campbell, California – Large and luxury vehicles are at the forefront of U.S. buyers’ desires, with the Lexus LS placing the highest of any 2009 model-year vehicle, according to the 2009 Motorist Choice Awards presented by AutoPacific and IntelliChoice.com.
The awards are determined by surveys that score 196 cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs. The awards combine AutoPacific’s owner satisfaction data from new car and truck buyers, with IntelliChoice’s cost-of-ownership rating methodology, and honours vehicles that speak to both the hearts and wallets of consumers. This year, the top 34 cars, and 106 of the top 107, are large cars, luxury cars, sport utility vehicles, crossover SUVs or minivans. Only one small car, the BMW 1 Series, scored in the top 100, landing in the 35th spot. The Toyota Prius was the next-highest-scoring small car, at number 107.
The winners were:
Top Brand – Lexus
Premium Luxury Car – Lexus LS
Aspirational Luxury Car – Audi A5
Large Car – Cadillac DTS/Lincoln Town Car (tie)
Midsize Luxury Car – Lexus ES
Premium Midsize Car – Toyota Camry
Midsize Car – Volkswagen Jetta
Image Compact Car – Toyota Prius
Compact Car – Toyota Matrix
Economy Car – Honda Fit
Sports Car – Chevrolet Corvette
Sporty Car – Dodge Challenger
Large Pickup – Chevrolet Avalanche
Compact Pickup – Nissan Frontier
Minivan – Honda Odyssey
Premium Luxury SUV – Cadillac Escalade
Large SUV – Chevrolet Tahoe
Large Crossover SUV – Chevrolet Traverse
Luxury Crossover SUV – Lexus RX
Premium Midsize Crossover SUV – Toyota Venza
Premium Midsize SUV – Toyota 4Runner
Midsize SUV – Toyota FJ Cruiser
Midsize Crossover SUV – Honda CR-V
Compact Crossover SUV – Hyundai Tucson/Jeep Patriot (tie)
