We have been spending a lot of time on this website talking about the quality delivered by Kia, but it means little without some sort of validation.
That came in the form of the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, where both Korean brands landed at the top of the heap.
The fact that Kia finished second behind Porsche should give you some idea of just how far they have come as a brand. Jaguar took the thrid place, followed closely by Hyundai in fourth.
This is a major coup for Kia, as it is the first time in their history that they have beat out all other non-premium automobile brands in this study.
Kia Soul is a top-rated vehicle
Kia has been a solid performer in this study for three straight years now, plotting an upward trajectory with each passing year.
The Soul helped started things by taking the #1 spot in the MPV segment in 2012. The brand as a whole cracked the top 10 the following year, and then climbed to 6th in 2014.
What that climb represents is a 20% improvement in reported issues with Kia vehicles, which we believe is an astonishing rise when you consider that other automakers seem to be either standing pat or slipping.
5 Kia models in the top 3 of their segments
There was an improvement across the entire Kia lineup, but the best strides were made by the Sorento and the Soul, both of which hit the top of their respective segments.
Five other Kia models made it into the top 3 of their segments, helping the Koreans into their incredible second place overall finish.
I love my 2011 Kia Soul base clear white with a 5-speed stick so much that I plan on my next vehicle being a Kia Soul, too. Love the car, feel safe and confident driving it, and love it’s looks, too.
When I re-read this article it really hit me how good this news is. Kia is now the #6 brand in car quality according to J.D. Power! Now, some will say that this is not that big of a deal because it is initial quality that is touted here, what about down the road. As Kia critics will try to point out. Nah, don’t listen to them Kia is really, really rising like a star to the top of the automotive world. I have taken note of their great car ever since May of 1999, when I bought my first Kia, a 1999 Kia Sephia 5-speed. I loved my little subcompact, violet mist 4-door sedan.
Now I have the ’11 Kia Soul base and this is our 3rd Kia. This Soul follows the ’01 Sportage 4X4. All three Kia’s were fantastic rigs that excelled in value, looks, Warranty and performance.
Love our new 2015 soul already went on 2 road trips our gas mileage is at 30 mpg costs about $25.00 to fill up and can drive 300+ miles on a tank the Sirius xm radio is preinstalled and has hands free Bluetooth so I connect my phone for hands free connectivity we got the 6 speed manual transmission and has very smooth shifting love everything about it