Suzuki Up Front Yet Again in 2018 Canstar Blue Customer Survey

Suzuki has once again been voted top automotive brand in New Zealand in the independent survey of owners by customer satisfaction research and ratings business Canstar Blue.

It is the second successive number one placing for Suzuki and the fourth first place ranking in the past five years.

The 2018 survey saw Suzuki tops in the five out of six categories - overall satisfaction, driving experience, reliability, value for money, after sales service and rated a respectable four stars in point of sale service.

“We are clearly pleased for Suzuki to be the only manufacturer to rate so consistently across all six categories,” said Fiona Bridgford, Marketing Manager for Suzuki New Zealand. “It is a wonderful endorsement from our customers and our thanks goes out to them and our supportive dealer network.”

Canstar Blue surveyed 1,022 people across the twelve automotive brands to ascertain how they rated their car buying experience. Emma Quantrill, spokesperson for Canstar Blue said, “It was Suzuki who left its rivals standing as it took five stars, not only for overall satisfaction, but also driving experience, reliability, value for money, and after sales service.”

“As in 2017 Suzuki was the only manufacturer to be rated five stars for driving experience in 2018,” said Quantrill. “It was also the only brand to take five stars for reliability and value for money.

”The research and ratings company pointed out there are now more than 3,351,000 passenger vehicles on New Zealand roads, including 43,386 cars that are less than six months old. New Zealand has one of the highest cars per capita in the world. It also has 100,000 kilometres of open roads so driving experience is a significant factor.

Results of the 2018 survey in New Zealand mirrored the recent confirmation of the Canstar Blue survey in Australia where Suzuki came out on top and was the only brand to achieve five stars for overall satisfaction. Five stars were also awarded to Suzuki for reliability, value for money and new car reliability, with the brand leading the way for the third year in succession.

Canstar’s core purpose is to help customers make better purchasing decisions. The business works with more than 30,000 products and more than 300 brands in the financial services industry.

A British study by credit broker OSV Ltd said Suzuki reliability was “well above the industry average” and that the make was in the top ten car makers in the world with 35 main production facilities in 23 countries.

Suzuki ranked second in an analysis of 50,000 car warranties by Warranty Direct in the UK, and named the Suzuki Jimmy and Vitara as second and third most reliable SUV models.

Warranty Direct said the Swift rated highly and there was positive feedback from owners about Suzuki’s dependability. “Suzuki make affordable, well built cars and is more consistent in reliability than other brands,” said the company.

Another survey by the UK Reliability Index also ranked Suzuki highly. “Swift reliability is a strong point, along with low running costs and great dynamics,” said Reliability Index. “Throw in great steering plus an accomplished chassis and the Swift makes a compelling case for itself in an overcrowded segment.”

The Reliability Index accounts for all factors in car repair, including the cost of parts, frequency of failures as well as time spent off road, to provide a total that measures the level of reliability.

Suzuki cars tested in the survey had an average age of 5.3 years, mileages of 63,072 kilometres with time off the road at only 1.93 hours in the event of a warranty claim.”

According to the Reliability Index, Suzuki has the lowest average repair cost of all manufacturers tested in Britain.