Everyone knows that Toyota has a reputation for reliability and happy drivers. But perhaps the buying process is changing as Toyota SUVs have a surprisingly low ranking on the latest satisfaction study. They’re even outranked by Kia. 

Toyota SUVs aren’t as satisfying as you think 

For the 40th year in a row, J.D.Power has released its annual United States Sales Satisfaction Index Study (SSI). The 2025 results have plenty of interesting takeaways. For example, Buick SUVs have the highest overall satisfaction rating. 

Also, Toyota SUVs and trucks are nearly in last place. The brand is outranked by Jeep, Mitsubishi, Kia, Mazda, Chevrolet, and more. It only landed one point ahead of Chrysler. 

The study measures customer satisfaction with the sales experience among new-vehicle purchasers and rejectors. It also measures satisfaction with the brands and dealerships based on rejections. 

Satisfaction is based on the delivery process, dealer personnel, working out the deal, paperwork, dealership facility, and dealership website. Rejection is based on the salesperson, price, facility, inventory, and negotiation. 

The 2025 study is based on customer responses from 32,616 drivers who purchased or leased a new vehicle between March – May 2025. Then averages are calculated on a 1,000 point scale. 

Buick SUVs lead the mass market class with a score of 827. The segment average score is 798. Then, Toyota SUVS ring in with a score of 776. Kia SUVs outrank Toyota with a score of 781. 

Subaru landed in second place with 823 points. Chevrolet is the second best American brand with a score of 821.