Strategic Vision announces 2015 Total Quality award winners

Another week, another vehicle quality rankings list. The latest is Strategic Vision’s 20th-annual Total Quality Awards, in which the organization names Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Volkswagen, and General Motors named as the industry’s top brands in terms of vehicle quality and customer experience.

The Mini Cooper Roadster is the top-ranked individual model with 935 points, its title of best standard convertible one of six category wins for BMW, whose other winners are the i3 (best near-luxury alternative powertrain car), BMW 3 Series Touring (Luxury multi-function car), Mini Cooper Countryman (tied for specialty coupe with the Dodge Challenger, which leads us to think they meant the Paceman), BMW X4 (near-luxury utility), and BMW X5 for luxury crossover.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) also scored six category toppers in the Fiat 500 (small multi-function car), Fiat 500e (small alternative powertrain car), Dodge Challenger (specialty coupe), Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (entry SUV), Dodge Charger (full-size car), and Dodge Durango (mid-size SUV). FCA also earned best corporate score, with 859 points, forming a statistical tie with VW and GM, which each scored 858 overall.

Here are the rest of the category winners, in no particular order (other than how Strategic Vision has listed them), followed by our observations:

Micro car: Smart Fortwo coupe
Small car: Mazda3 sedan
Mid-size car: Subaru WRX/Kia Optima (tie)
Mid-size multi-function car: Subaru Outback/Honda Crosstour (tie)
Mid-size alternative powertrain car: Honda Accord Hybrid
Near-luxury car: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class/Lincoln MKZ (tie)
Luxury car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Premium coupe: Chevrolet Corvette
Premium convertible/roadster: Chevrolet Corvette
Standard pickup: Chevrolet Colorado
Full-size pickup: Nissan Titan
Heavy-duty pickup: GMC Sierra 2500/3500
Entry crossover: Buick Encore/VW Tiguan (tie)
Mid-size CUV: Nissan Murano/Ford Flex
Full-size utility: GMC Yukon XL
Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade/Land Rover Range Rover Sport (tie)
Minivan: Honda Odyssey

It’s interesting to us that Strategic Vision would include two dead-in-the-water models on this list, the Mini Roadster and Honda Crosstour having both been discontinued by their respective makers earlier this year. Notable for similar reasons is the Nissan Titan’s ranking, considering it’s about to replaced by a new design. We’re guessing the term “multi-function” car is how research consultants say “hatchback;” we’d be more apt to call the Fiat 500 a subcompact hatch, and the Crosstour a crossover. Also, the lack of a sports car category seems odd to us, as that would’ve been a more natural spot for the Subaru WRX than chucking it in the mid-size car category. And finally, what’s a specialty coupe, and how does the Mini Countryman qualify, as opposed to the Paceman, which is actually a two-door car?

Strategic Vision surveyed 46,000 vehicle owners “to measure everything the customer communicates and capture it in a calculation that represents the future in understanding what motivates the customer,” said Strategic Vision President, Alexander Edwards.