What are the most exciting saloons?

The J.D. Power report is dominated by KIA, while the most surprising car is the BMW 7 Series. Giulia beats Lexus IS and 3 Series

By: Massimo Grassi

Jul 27, 2024 at 2:40pm ET

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How do you feel when you pick up your new car? The first few days can be compared to a love affair where you get more and more excited. For the features you discover and for the finishing or design details you notice for the first time.

Obviously, these initial feelings don't determine long-term buyer satisfaction, but they are no less important. Some measure them in the first few months after purchase, like the Americans at J.D. Power, who study initial perceptions in macro-categories such as design, performance, safety, ease of use, comfort, perceived quality and much more.

It is on the basis of these more or less tangible elements that the ranking of the most 'exciting' new cars sold in the United States is established. Asian brands, and in particular Korean brands, dominate most of the segment rankings. But there's also BMW with three models, Porsche and an Italian outsider: the Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Owner evaluations

An acronym for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout, the indicator devised by J.D. Power aims to measure the extent to which each new car offers positive and rewarding experiences in terms of design, performance, safety, ease of use, comfort, perceived quality, etc. The data comes directly from owners' evaluations of their cars. The data comes directly from owners' evaluations 90 days after purchase.

Alfa Romeo Giulia

BMW Series 3

As mentioned, the Alfa Romeo Giulia took first place in the "top-of-the-range compact car" ranking, ahead of the Lexus IS and BMW 3 Series, in second and third place respectively. The list of cars also included models such as the Mercedes C-Class, Tesla Model 3, Volvo V60, Audi A4, Audi A5, etc.