“As reliable as a Korean car” doesn’t quite have a ring to it but the truth isn’t always the sweetest sounding. The recent 2022 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) ratings in the U.S. just came in and owners of vehicles under the Hyundai Motor Group umbrella reported the fewest problems.

Korean brands ranked the highest in both the mass-market and premium categories, putting everyone else to shame.

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J.D. Power compiles all the results into an easy-to-understand score of Problems per 100 (PP100) vehicles. Therefore, in this instance, the lower the number the better.

The survey only involved vehicles that are hitting the three-year old mark, meaning all the vehicles are 2019 model year units. Tens of thousands of verified, original owners vehicles were marked based 184 problem areas across nine major categories that comprised:
- powertrain
- infotainment technology
- driving assistance technology
- features, controls, and displays
- climate system
- seats
- exterior condition
- interior condition
- driving experience

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Kia scored 145 PP1000 among the mass-market brands while Genesis took top honours in the premium category with a score of 155 PP100.

In fact, the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis nameplates took three of the top four rankings, including the top spot.

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Kia is the top-ranked brand overall, including among the aforementioned mass-market segment while Genesis is the top-ranked premium brand and fourth overall. Hyundai slots in between its sister brands at third overall.

Hyundai took top honors in the midsize SUV and midsize sedan segments with the Hyundai Santa Fe and Hyundai Sonata while the Kia Sorento rounded it off by coming out tops in the upper midsize SUV segment for the second consecutive year.

Kia finished 2021 in third overall but a revised scoring criteria saw them jump to top overall this year; marking the first time a non-premium brand has taken the honour in the history of the VDS.

Paramount to Kia’s dethroning of premium brands at the top was the overall findings that as a group, mass-market brands have become more dependable than premium brands due to massive gains in terms of build quality and containing less technology.

Can’t break something that isn’t there to begin with, right?

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For the 2022 VDS, J.D. Power surveyed 29,487 customers in the U.S. across 32 automotive brands. Only verified purchasers and lessees of new 2019 model-year cars and light trucks registered for personal use were considered.

Interestingly, but hardly surprising was the fact that the infotainment systems accounted for more than twice the number of complaints of any other of the nine categories measured by the VDS. Infotainment alone took seven of the top ten most frequently cited problems.