The premium car manufacturer has ranked the highest in satisfying new vehicle owners once again, with a score of 846 on a 1,000-point scale.

Lexus performs particularly well in three of the four key measures: vehicle quality and reliability; vehicle appeal; and service satisfaction. Rounding out the highest-ranked five nameplates are Honda (825), Jaguar (818), Mercedes-Benz (817) and Toyota (814).

'Rising to the top of the manufacturer's ranking in ownership satisfaction requires a concerted customer-focused approach throughout the vehicle life cycle, from the product concept stages to servicing customers during the ownership period,' said Martin Volk, senior research manager at J.D. Power and Associates.

'Earning industry-benchmark status year after year demands an in depth understanding on how to match and further exceed customer expectations in an ever-changing and challenging environment within the automotive industry.'

While a majority of brands have increased in satisfaction compared with 2009, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Nissan all improve considerably – up 19 points, 24 points and 14 points, respectively. In addition, Jaguar improves considerably from 2009 – up 13 points – and performs particularly well in vehicle appeal and service satisfaction. The Jaguar XF also ranks highest in the executive/luxury car segment.

At the model level, Lexus, Honda and Toyota each capture two awards. The Lexus RX (SUV) and IS (compact executive car); Honda Jazz (small car) and Accord (upper medium car); and Toyota Aygo (city car) and Yaris (small car) each rank highest in their respective segments. Also receiving segment-level awards are the Kia cee'd (lower medium car); Mazda MX-5 (sports car); and the Mercedes-Benz B-Class (MPV).

The 2010 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) is based on the evaluations of more than 17,000 online interviews from UK car owners after an average of two years of ownership. The study was fielded in December 2009 and January 2010.