AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Awards survey didn't only question owners about overall satisfaction, however, but rather queried them on a total of 44 different vehicular attributes. Of these, the MINI received top marks in image, braking, handling, fuel economy, price, operation costs, resale value, general value, and front seat roominess.
 |
| Despite what automotive journalists have been saying, customers praise the MINI's instrument layout and control visibility. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
Say what? The MINI took top honors for front seat roominess? Actually, the little car offers superior headroom to many larger cars, and shoulder, hip and legroom is also exemplary.
Another area where the MINI excels, according to the survey, is instrument layout and controls visibility. This report flies in the face of recurring negative feedback by automotive journalists about the car's centrally located instrumentation being difficult to read.
 |
| What makes the survey results even more impressive is the fact that the MINI is the lowest priced European car currently sold in North America. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
Altogether, the MINI took top spot in 17 out of 44 AutoPacific survey categories, in comparison to other European brands. What makes this even more impressive is that the MINI has the lowest median transaction price of all European brands currently sold in North America.
If MINI can improve its initial quality, and there is little doubt it will as BMW is currently the best European brand for initial quality according to the aforementioned J.D. Power IQS survey, then it will combine a passion-driven owner experience with a pragmatic one, for even higher owner satisfaction, and ultimately much stronger retention rates.