Holden Commodore tops dependability study

Forget the Mazda6 or Volkswagen Passat – the most dependable mid-size car is the first imported Holden Commodore.

That’s the word from UK customers who bought the Holden Commodore, which wears Vauxhall Insignia badges in Old Blighty.

Almost 13,536 new-vehicle owners were surveyed in the latest JD Power survey, the 2018 UK Vehicle Dependability Study, in which the Insignia notched up the lowest number of problems as reported by owners.

The results of the survey will be good news for Holden, which has struggled to ignite the imagination of heartland Commodore buyers since it ceased Australian manufacturing last October.

Although some homegrown VFII Commodores remain unsold, sales of the new German-made Holden ZB Commodore – which was released in February – are down by more than 50 per cent in the first half of this year.

That said, with 5384 sales to June 2018, the imported Commodore still dominates the large-car VFACTS segment that also includes the Kia Stinger and Skoda Superb.

Compared more appropriately with mid-size cars, the Commodore lies second only to the Toyota Camry (7496), which is now also imported, and easily outsells the Australia’s favourite mid-sizer among private buyers, the Mazda6 (1675), and the Mondeo (1078), which has replaced the Australian-built Falcon as Ford’s flagship passenger model.

The JD Power survey records the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, so the lower the score the higher the quality.

According to the results, which measure issues experienced over a 12-month period by original car purchasers after one to three years of ownership, the Vauxhall Insignia was the most dependable in its class.

The Jaguar XE and Ford Mondeo were second and third in the medium car class for dependability, says JD Power.

Some of the questions asked of car owners in the survey included how many problems were experienced across a variety of areas, including the exterior, engine, transmission, features, controls, heating/cooling and technology.

As it turns out, in-vehicle technology continues to create issues for owners across all of the 25 brands covered, with Bluetooth connectivity and voice recognition issues at the top of the list.

In terms of brands overall, Hyundai was top of the table with the least number of problems, followed by Suzuki, Kia and Skoda.

The best-ranking luxury brand was Mercedes-Benz in 14th spot, while Audi and BMW were in the bottom three.