Check this out.

 

Here are the specific category leaders for 2004. Note that vehicle(s) in first position are overall winners; vehicles on subsequent lines of each category were also mentioned in the J.D. Power press release.



Category Vehicle
Compact Car Toyota Corolla
Hyundai Accent
Chrysler PT Cruiser (tie)
Honda Civic (tie)
Entry Midsize Car Hyundai Sonata
Oldsmobile Alero
Chevrolet Malibu
Premium Midsize Car Buick Century
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mitsubishi Galant (tie)
Toyota Avalon (tie)
Full-Size Car Mercury Grand Marquis
Buick LeSabre
Ford Crown Victoria
Entry Luxury Car Acura TSX
Ford Thunderbird
Cadillac CTS

Mid Luxury Car Lexus GS 300/430
Cadillac DeVille
Lincoln Town Car
Premium Luxury Car Lexus SC 430
Lexus LS 430
Cadillac XLR
Sporty Car Dodge Stratus Coupe
Toyota Celica
Ford Mustang
Premium Sports Car Porsche 911
Honda S2000
Nissan 350Z
Compact Pickup Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Ford Ranger
Toyota Tacoma
Light-Duty Full-Size Pickup Toyota Tundra
Ford F-150 light duty
Cadillac Escalade EXT (tie)
Ford F-150 Heritage/Lightning (tie)
Heavy-Duty Full-Size Pickup Dodge Ram heavy duty
GMC Sierra heavy duty
Chevrolet Silverado heavy duty

Entry SUV Honda Element
Hyundai Santa Fe
Honda CR-V
Midsize SUV Toyota 4Runner
Honda Pilot
Mercury Mountaineer
Full-Size SUV Chevrolet Suburban
Chevrolet Tahoe
Toyota Sequoia
Entry Luxury SUV Lexus RX 330
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Infiniti FX-Series
Premium Luxury SUV Lexus LX 470
Lexus GX 470
Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV
Compact Van Honda Odyssey
Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan
Toyota Sienna

 

LOL@ the list for midsize...Hyundai gets the nod, no sign of Accord or Camry anywhere...but Alero is there.

 

That's sad - a car that is not even being made anymore gets the nod over the usual suspects.

 

I know, and look at the third car on the list...

 

Look at all those Lexus SUVs on the list...... I guess that's where all the $$ is coming from for Lexus

 

Test drove a 330RX, and I have to say that the thing is very well put together. Quiet as a tomb...very little wind noise at all, and its an SUV! Very nice interior. IMHO, I don't think Lexuses (or is it Lexi?) perform as well as other cars at roughly the same price, but if you are not as big on performance, its hard to beat the luxury and reliability.

Not to say that their cars may not appeal to men, but when my wife and I looked at our local Lexus dealer, I was struck by how they gear their dealerships towards female buyers. Our local Lexus dealership looks like a freakin law firm office, with marble, cherry wood and glass all over the place. They offer a Starbucks like expresso bar, free massages (complete with massage chairs), and manicure service when having car maintenance/repair done.

 

The RX330 is actually quite fast...despite not being the torque monster engine that Infiniti puts into its SUV, the RX330 makes up for it by being relatively light. I've seen 0-60 times of ~7 seconds for it, which is pretty decent. I'm not so sure it handles like its competitors, though. But I agree - very nice interior.

 

The wife is dying for one. We saw a really sweet looking one today in all black (black grille, too) with gold emblems. Its gonna be a fight between the Odyssey, MDX and RX when the time comes for me to pay her back for letting me get the TSX...

I'd better start saving up my dough...Im hoping the demand for the non hybrid RX330's simmers down...you can't get a good deal on one around here at all.

 

One of my friend has a 99 RX300 with 200,000+km on it and it still drives & looks brand new and not a single rattle. His RX300 put his wife's 02 CLK to a shame! They only drive the CLK when they want to show off! Too bad the RX330 is not made in Japan now.

 

some is made in japan, some is made in the adward winning facility of TMMC in cambridge for highest quality