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Porsche was the highest ranked brand overall in the J.D. Power 2026 US Initial Quality Study published on Friday. In addition, the Porsche 911 was named the best vehicle in the study’s overall ranking for the second consecutive year, ranking highest in the Premium Sporty Car category.The annual study, in its 40th year, measures the number of customer-reported problems per 100 vehicles (PPH) in the US within the first 90 days of ownership. Based this year on responses from 78,514 purchasers and lessees of new 2026 model-year cars, it assessed driving experience, exterior, driver assistance systems, controls and displays, infotainment, interior and powertrain. A lower PP100 score indicates higher vehicle quality. With 138 PPH, Porsche significantly improved on its previous year’s score of 188.Among mass market brands, Ford ranked highest in this year’s study with a score of 152 ahead of second-placed Nissan (156) and third-placed Buick (162).The parent corporation receiving the most model-level awards was BMW with six awards. Hyundai Motor Group (five awards) ranked second and General Motors (four awards) was third. Among brands, BMW received the most segment awards (six). Ford and Hyundai tied second with three segment awards apiece.Industry-wide, the quality of new vehicles improved sharply year over year, according to J.D. Power.There were fewer problems cited across nine of 10 categories evaluated. Infotainment was the exception, where connectivity issues continued to strain customer experience with new-vehicle quality. “As more technology is introduced into vehicles, keeping the experience simple matters more than ever,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “The biggest gains in quality come from features that are easy to use — simple controls, less-intrusive driver assistance and software that works the way customers expect. When technology becomes too complicated, the likelihood of customers experiencing a problem rises considerably.”Key findings of the 2026 IQS:The total number of reported problems with new vehicles improved to 175 PP100 from 192 PP100 a year ago. This was the best year-over-year improvement in reported problems since 1997 and the fourth-best performance in the 40-year history of IQS. Overall, this year premium brands experienced 169 PP100 and mass market brands experienced 177 PP100.Infotainment presents quality challenges: The only category experiencing an increase in reported problems this year is infotainment, with a total of 44.4 PP100 in the mass market segment and 38.3 PP100 in the premium segment. Within the infotainment category, problems with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity accounted for an increase of 1.4 PP100 in reported problems, the largest single contributor to the year-over-year decline in infotainment quality.Improvements abound: Cupholders were the biggest single contributor to the year-over-year improvement in initial quality based on more accessible location and capacity to hold a variety of sizes of cups/water bottles. This year also saw significant improvements in driving assistance alerts, electric vehicle range, road noise and body panel fit and finish.Touchscreens contribute to distracted driving: Among owners who detailed a distracted driving-related problem with their vehicle, 46% said the source of the distraction was from the infotainment or touchscreen, while 18% were distracted by driver assistance alerts.
