Which Hyundai vehicle won a 2023 J.D. Power U.S. APEAL Award?

We love seeing Hyundai vehicles earn awards, especially those that come from prestigious publications or analytics companies. For example, in the automotive industry, J.D. Power is a huge deal. The consumer intelligence company releases several awards each year and they’re a huge source of information for consumers when shopping for their next new vehicle. The 2023 U.S. APEAL Awards were just handed out for this year, and we’re stoked to say that a Hyundai model was recognized with one of these exciting awards. Which model won, you might ask? The 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz – for the second year in a row!

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What are the J.D. Power APEAL Awards?

As a complement to other major studies performed by J.D. Power – such as the Initial Quality Study and Tech Experience Index – the U.S. APEAL Awards figure out how new owners resonate with the vehicle they recently purchased. In the study, J.D. Power reaches out to new owners 90 days after the purchase of their vehicle and asks them to think about a total of 37 different attributes about their vehicle, the answers of which are then aggregated to give each model and brand an overall score.

The different attributes can be boiled down to ten major factors that are important to vehicles. Rather than being specific aspects of a vehicle, J.D. Power has consumers think about how they feel in certain situations, creating ten “experience groups.” These groups include: walking up to your vehicle, setting up and starting your vehicle, getting in and out of your vehicle, using the vehicle’s infotainment system, the vehicle’s cabin, the vehicle’s powertrain, the vehicle’s fuel usage, how it feels to drive the vehicle, how safe they feel driving their vehicle and how comfortable they feel driving their vehicle.

Were any other models recognized?

In addition to the 2023 Santa Cruz being recognized as the highest ranked vehicle in the Midsize Pickup Truck segment, a few other Hyundai models were recognized in the top three of their respective categories so we thought we’d highlight them too. The Hyundai Sonata was second in the Midsize Car segment, the Hyundai Elantra was third in the Compact Car segment, the Genesis G80 was second in the Midsize Premium Car segment, the Hyundai Palisade was second in the Upper Midsize SUV segment, the Genesis GV70 was third in the Compact Premium SUV segment and the Hyundai Santa Fe was third in the Midsize SUV segment.

Interested in a Hyundai Santa Cruz or one of these other great vehicles for yourself? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us right here at the Hyundai of Bellingham sales desk. We look forward to hearing from you!