Hyundai Deemed America’s Most Appealing Non-Luxury Brand

Hyundai has outscored all other non-premium brands in the U.S. market for new-car appeal, according to the J.D. Power 2014 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study.

Last month Hyundai also led non-luxury brands in Powers' Initial Quality Study.

Porsche topped the overall APEAL ratings for the 10th consecutive year. The other top-five scores are Jaguar, Audi, Land Rover and BMW.

Power says this year's industry average slipped one point to 794 of a possible 1,000.

The APEAL index measures owner feedback on 77 vehicle characteristics. Fuel economy was the most improved category this year but also the lowest-scoring item by a wide margin.

Power says the 2014 results show that models equipped with the latest electronic gadgets don't rate higher than less endowed carryover cars. The firm opines that owners are impressed with new features but continue to struggle learning to use them.

Among the 11 car and 12 truck segments tracked by the study, Dodge and Porsche each led in three categories. Dodge won for compact car (Dart), midsize sporty car (Challenger) and large car (Charger). Porsche led in compact premium sporty car (Boxster), midsize premium sporty car (911) and midsize premium SUV (Cayenne).

Three other brands each captured two segments. Audi received awards for large premium car (A8, tied with Mercedes-Benz's S-Class) and compact premium SUV (Q5). Ford won in large light- and heavy-duty pickups (F-150 and F-250/350, respectively).

Mercedes-Benz posted segment wins for midsize premium car (CLS-Class) and large premium car (S-Class, tied with Audi A8). Nissan captured top honors for compact SUV (Rogue) and minivan (Quest).