J.D. Power: Top Quality Cars

These new vehicles have the best quality right out of the gate, according to owner surveys.

Courtesy: Toyota Motor Co.

Subcompact Car: Toyota Yaris

Intial Quality

If you're tempted to buy a domestic car because of its bargain price, here's another reason to consider: Quality improvements among U.S. carmakers have outpaced the industry placing some brands among the very best, according to J.D. Power and associates.

While quality for the industry overall has improved by about eight percent this year domestic automakers managed a 10% improvement, according to the market research company. General Motors Cadillac luxury brand, for instance, jumped from 10th place last year to third this year.

Asian nameplates continue to lead the pack, though, with buyers of Lexus vehicles, Toyota's luxury brand, experiencing the fewest problems, followed by Porsche.

Another big surprise came from South Korean Hyundai, ranking as the best non-luxury brand and beating out both Honda and Toyota. Ford Motor Company's Ford brand was the best domestic non-luxury nameplate scoring just slightly behind Toyota's mainstream Toyota brand.

Despite progress among domestic manufacturers, Toyota, including Scion and Lexus, earned the most top rankings in various market categories. Toyota, Lexus and Scion products ranked at the top in 10 out of 14 different categories. Cadillac, despite it's high rank as a brand, had no vehicles that topped any given category.

J.D. Power and Associates definition of "Initial Quality" includes design factors -- such as the usability of various features -- as well as problems like things not working right or loose-fitting parts. Owners are surveyed 90 days after purchasing their cars and scores are tabulated based on "problems per 100 vehicles." Initial Quality has proven to be a good predictor of long term dependability, according to J.D. Power and other industry sources.

Subcompact Car: Toyota Yaris

2nd place: Hyunndai Accent
3rd place: Honda Fit

Compact car: Hyundai Elantra sedan

2nd place: Toyota Prius
3rd place: Honda Civic

Compact sporty car: Scion tC

2nd place: Volkswagen TDI
Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category.

Compact premium sporty car: Nissan Z

2nd place: Mercedes-Benz SLK-class
Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category.

Courtesy: Toyota Motor Co.

Entry premium: Lexus IS

Entry premium: Lexus IS

2nd place: Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G-series (tie)

Mid-size premium: Lexus GS

2nd place: Acura RL
3rd place: Lexus ES

Midsize sporty car: Ford Mustang

Only the Mustang is listed here because it was the only car to score above average in this category.

Large premium car: Lexus LS

2nd place: Mercedes-Benz S-class
Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category.

Courtesy: Nissan Motor Co.

Mid-size car: Nissan Altima

Mid-size car: Nissan Altima

2nd place: Pontiac G6
3rd place: Chevrolet Malibu

Large car: Mercury Sable

2nd place: Toyota Avalon
3rd place: Chevrolet Impala

Compact SUV: Two-way tie

Winners: Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda CR-V
2nd place: Mitsubishi Outlander

Mid-size SUV: Three-way tie

Winners: Ford Edge, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota 4Runner

Minivan: Toyota Sienna

2nd place: Honda Odyssey
Only two vehicles are listed here because they were the only ones to score above average in this category.

Mid-size pick-up: Honda Ridgeline

2nd place: Nissan Frontier
3rd place: Honda Odyssey