• by Karl Greenberg , July 13, 2010

It is officially a truism (if such a thing is possible) that auto brands have reached something close to parity when it comes to short and long-term vehicle quality.

Studies from the likes of J.D. Power & Associates have shown that while automakers play musical chairs from year to year on who gets a trophy, it's a photo finish; the actual differences between competitive brands is basically razor-thin at this point.

But automotive oracle AutoPacific has its own ranking of top vehicles based not on what owners say about problems or lack thereof in their new vehicles, but on how close the vehicles have come to perfection, or an "ultimate standard of perfection or excellence," in AutoPacific parlance. The 2010 Ideal Vehicle Awards essentially asks owners what they would change about their vehicles if they could, across an array of features.

"After owning and operating a vehicle for some time, consumers often identity shortcomings, and ideas about what they would like to change about their vehicle," says George Peterson, president of the firm, in a release. He says the study polls owners of 2010 vehicles on 15 key attributes, with the highest-ranked vehicles, being the ones to which owners would make the least changes.

Peterson says the winners are not just delivering on the price of entry, but on what their owners daydreamed about before they bought the vehicles." Shoppers can use the IVAs as a benchmark for vehicles that are designed and built with customers in mind," he says.

The Tustin, California firm says the big winner this year is Range Rover, which was last in its class in 2009. Another surprise, at least for those who don't have Suzuki anywhere near their shopping list: The tier-three auto brand's 2010 Kizashi was top car. The firm also gave it top honors in its 2010 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.

The Kizashi is a make-or-break vehicle for the brand, which hasn't got the awareness, share of voice or consideration horsepower of near competitors like Mazda and Kia. The problem is still that people think of Suzuki for cars. That may change, however, as the SX4 sport wagon has also gotten the nod recently in owner-satisfaction studies from the likes of Kelley Blue Book.

Another rather big surprise: No Korean brands' vehicles won for their segments. Not surprising: the top-rated popular brand is Ford, outscoring GMC. The top-rated premium brand is Porsche -- outscoring Lincoln and Land Rover for the most ideal premium vehicle brand honors, per AutoPacific, which says Porsche and Ford have now won three times in three consecutive years.

Ford also has eleven segment winners. "No other manufacturer came even close," says Peterson. American brands have sixteen segment winners, European brands six and Japanese brands five.