Volvo ranks № 1 overall as well as № 1 for luxury brands in the J.D. Power Tech Experience Index Study. Tesla comes in second—an unofficial result due to a limited sample size. And Hyundai is the top mass-market brand. “Volvo is doing really well, with a high number of advanced technologies”, says J.D. Power Executive Director of Driver Interaction and Human Machine Interface Research.
In keeping with their long-cultivated safety-oriented image, Volvo pack a lot of high-tech safety features into their cars and crossovers. For example, Volvo made automatic braking a standard component of their cross-traffic alert feature for the 2020 model year, on all vehicles equipped with blind-spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert, according to Volvo’s media page.
The new version of JDP’s so-called “TXI” Study assigns an “innovation ranking” to each brand, based on several criteria. New additions to the survey include camera rear-view mirrors that replace a mirror image with a video feed from a high-mounted, rear-facing camera. The camera provides a wider, less obstructed view. The 2020 TXI survey also newly includes questions on cross-traffic monitoring systems.
Volvo’s winning rank was a score of 617 out of a possible 1,000; the industry average was 522. BMW was the official № 2, at 583 (Tesla’s unofficial score was 593). After Hyundai at 556, Subaru is the № 2 mass-market brand at 541.
The 2020 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study is based on responses from 82,527 owners of new 2020 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.