Cars and Drivers

Subaru, Lexus Win Top Car Brand Awards

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 11, 2017 6:15 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 1:06 pm

Kelley Blue Book has passed out awards for what it considers the best non-luxury car brands, best trucks and best luxury car brands. Subaru won in the first category, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) in the next, and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus brand in the final one.

Kelley Blue Book breaks two of the categories into several parts. Subaru not only won Best Overall Brand. It took the top spot as Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand, an indication of how dominant it is in the category. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) won as Best Value Brand. General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) GMC won the Most Refined Brand category, and Mazda won Best Car Styling Brand. It is notable that neither Mazda nor Subaru have a great deal of market share in America. Subaru has about 2% of the market and Mazda less than 1%.

Lexus not only won Best Overall Luxury Brand, but it was rated at the top of the Most Trusted Luxury Brand. Buick won as Best Value Luxury Brand, a coup because many buyers and people in the industry do not look at it as a luxury brand at all. The top spot for Most Refined Luxury Brand went to Mercedes-Benz. Porsche won Best Performance Luxury Brand. Jaguar won as Best Car Styling Luxury Brand.

Ford’s win in the Best Overall Truck Brand is notable because its flagship F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the United States by far.

As it made the awards, Kelley Blue Book noted:

For 2017, Subaru retains its Best Overall Brand crown for the second consecutive year, in addition to winning Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand. As the Best Overall Brand, Subaru captured the highest average scores among all 12 Brand Watch factors, including affordability, driving comfort, driving performance, durability/reliability, exterior styling, fuel efficiency, interior layout, prestige/sophistication, reputation, ruggedness, safety and technology (factors listed in alphabetical order). The Forester, Crosstrek and Outback contributed to Subaru’s overall success. Subaru has earned Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand titles since 2015.

Also:

Lexus remains the Best Overall Luxury Brand for 2017, taking the title for the second consecutive year, earning the top average Brand Watch factor scores among all luxury automakers. The brand is highly regarded for its strong lineup among consumers, with, the RX, ES, NX Hybrid, IS, GS and LS as the primary drivers of Lexus’ success. In addition to its top luxury award, Lexus takes home the Most Trusted Luxury Brand win for the second consecutive year. Lexus previously won Most Trusted Luxury Brand in 2013 and 2014.

Methodology:

[T]hroughout the year, the Kelley Blue Book Strategic Insights team surveys thousands of KBB.com visitors to track consumers’ perceptions of various automotive brands. The information collected from this ongoing Brand Watch study determines the year’s Best Overall Brand, Most Trusted Brand, Best Performance Brand and more, as part of our annual Brand Image Awards.