When it comes to critics’ reviews, whether the audience agrees can hit the mark. This is sometimes the case with Consumer Reports. In many cases it is good for the money, but owners can have different opinions.
Either way, it’s worth taking a long look at what the review site has to say, as it uses the owner’s input to develop some reviews, especially when it’s not recommending a vehicle. In this case, Consumer Reports firmly believes that car enthusiasts will be as deeply disappointed in the 2022 Cadillac XT4 and 2022 Jaguar E-Pace as it was.
How Consumer Reports Determines Owner Satisfaction Scores
Determining “owner satisfaction” comes down to surveys of the owners themselves. Consumer Reports often does a road test where someone who works for the review site drives the vehicle to see how they like it. This helps determine the overall score, but for ‘owner satisfaction’ it’s all based on what everyday drivers who own the vehicle think.
Some of the questions asked in the survey include factors such as whether the buyer would buy the vehicle again. It goes on to ask for more details, such as how the handling and acceleration are. Comfort is also an important factor and includes questions about noise, climate control, driving and how the seats feel after long journeys.
Styling is another big factor. Surveyors are asked about the interior and exterior. Finally, Consumer Reports wants to know if the value is worth the owner’s money. If not, this will be strongly reflected in the final “owner satisfaction” score.
If there are not enough responses, the owner satisfaction score is based on a similar model. In many cases this will be the previous year’s model.
2022 Cadillac XT4 may not be a great entry-level luxury SUV
They say appearances are deceiving. This seems to be the case with the luxury SUV 2022 Cadillac XT4. It received high scores from owners based on its styling inside and out. However, that was the only decent score it got from Consumer Reports.
The XT4 achieved the lowest owner satisfaction score in the entry-level luxury sport-utility segment, while the Volvo XC40 achieved the highest score.
The driving experience earned the Cadillac XT4 a decent score, although it certainly wasn’t great. As for comfort and price, owners made it abundantly clear that they were far from satisfied. Less than 50% of owners said they would buy it again.
2022 Jaguar E-Pace is not the best entry-level luxury SUV
Consumer Reports has placed the 2022 Jaguar E-Pace in the middle of the pack in the entry-level luxury sport-utility segment. How it came to this conclusion, however, is a bit of a mystery.
Going back to 2018, when the Jaguar E-Pace first hit the showroom floor, it turns out that there wasn’t enough consumer response to rate owner satisfaction. This means that Consumer Reports has the relatively low owner satisfaction score based on a comparable model. But which model has not been made clear?
The Jaguar F-Pace and I-Pace are the ones that don’t have answers to the owner’s satisfaction survey, so it may not even be a Jaguar that helped Consumer Reports come to this conclusion.
Despite this, the Jaguar E-Pace has been criticized in the past for a lack of comfortable driving. Many were also less than satisfied with the mediocre performance. The poor gas rating for the 2020 model also left some owners feeling a little cranky given the price.
Finally, the plastic trim was something that many consumers felt did not belong in a luxury vehicle. Sure, leather seats and touchscreen infotainment systems are great, but this is a Jaguar. Cheap plastic has no place in a luxury vehicle.
Given the lack of enthusiasm for the E-Pace, this could explain why Consumer Reports didn’t get enough responses to post owner satisfaction data.
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