For the fourth consecutive year, the Kia Forte is ranked USA’s highest quality compact sedan, ranking ahead of Toyota.

In the latest J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Kia Forte topped the Compact Car category. Coming in second place is the Toyota Corolla, followed by the Nissan Sentra.

The Honda Civic is not ranked this year because it has just gone on sale less than a year ago, and with parts shortage keeping waiting period long, there is not enough 2022 Honda Civic FE on the road to meet J.D. Power’s sampling and minimum ownership period criteria.

The survey was conducted between February to May 2022.

J.D. Power also noted that mass market brands have better built quality than premium brands, averaging 175 problems per 100 vehicles, versus premium brands’ 196 problems per 100 vehicles.

Owners of battery EVs have the most complaints, registering 240 problems per 100 cars. Tesla and Polestar ranked at the bottom of the chart, with 226 and 328 problems per 100 cars respectively.

Note that J.D. Power’s definition of ‘problems’ does not necessarily mean a mechanical or software fault, but includes many highly subjective customer complaints like insufficient USB ports, cup holders that are too small, touch screens that are difficult to use, etc. These are design-related characteristics rather than a genuine quality issue.

The Kia Forte was last sold in Malaysia sometime around 2018, as the Kia Cerato.

Despite its reputation as a low resale value sedan whose reliability can’t match a Bangkok taxi-proven Toyota Corolla Altis, a used Kia Cerato is actually one of the best value for money and reliable C-segment sedan you can buy.

Whatever problems a high mileage used Kia Cerato has, none costs more than several hundred Ringgit to fix.

Also read: Used 5-year old Kia Cerato (YD) – From RM 50k, as reliable as a Corolla, better equipped, how much to maintain and repair?