Suzuki the People's Choice in Consumer NZ survey

Suzuki has the most satisfied owners in New Zealand with reliable cars which cost the least to maintain and repair according to a recent survey by Consumer NZ.

The Consumer New Zealand’s People’s Choice award winning car brand for 2019 is Suzuki following an analysis of 19 brands, 94 models and a total of 9,736 cars.

Ninety percent of the 480 Suzuki owners surveyed said they were “very satisfied” and no fewer than 89 percent would recommend the Suzuki brand.

Of the Suzuki cars reviewed in the reliability and satisfaction survey, only eight percent had a serious or major fault, one that needed to be fixed or was likely to need time off the road and could cause a breakdown.

Significantly, more Suzuki owners than the average of all brands surveyed said their car was completely trouble-free. At the same time, more Suzuki owners than the average were very satisfied with their car.

Paul Smith, head of testing for Consumer NZ, said top reliability contributes to owner happiness but there is more to it than that. Suzuki owners also rated the make’s value for money and fuel efficiency highly.

The strong selling Swift, Suzuki’s top-selling model, was also named by Consumer NZ as the small car winner, with a reliability index of 75 percent compared to the overall survey average of 54 percent. A total of 63 percent of Swift owners reported trouble-free cars, and serious or major faults were noted by just eight percent.

Of the Swift owners in the survey, a high 92 percent were “very satisfied” while 89 percent would recommend the Swift.

“Swift owners were significantly more satisfied than the average small car owner and more likely to recommend this car to others,” said Consumer NZ.

The People’s Choice award recognises products and services with highly satisfied owners and users. Consumer says if a highly rated People’s Choice brand or model is chosen there is more likely to be a satisfied customer experience.

Gary Collins, General Manager of Marketing for Suzuki New Zealand, said the results of this latest Consumer NZ award were extremely positive for the brand, and substantiated the feedback Suzuki received from its customers and dealers. “It is another strong endorsement of the Suzuki brand,” he said.

Suzuki was also recently named top automotive brand in the UK by the Institute of Customer Service and the brand’s Vitara SUV won two British consumer awards.