Hyundai tops in Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards, Toyota a no show

Strategic Vision has released its results for the 2007 Total Quality Awards, and the final tally is a bit surprising. For the first time ever, Hyundai has risen to share the position of having the most models leading a segment, along with Nissan. Both brands had three models with the top Total Quality Index (TQI) score in their segments, including the Hyundai Azera, Entourage, Santa Fe and Nissan Maxima, Quest, and Titan. The other surprise is that Toyota, long a leader in perceived quality, led no segments, though its vehicles still improved their TQI scores.
We like the Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards because they attempt to measure more than just the number of problems per vehicle. Vehicles that are more likely to make emotional connections with their owners tend to earn better TQI scores, for instance. That's why, according to the report, the VW Rabbit beat out other strong contenders in the small car class like the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris.

You can check out all the segment leaders after the jump, and view all the rankings by clicking here.

[Source: Strategic Vision]

Small Car
Honda Civic (882)

Small Multi-Function
Volkswagen Rabbit (880)

Medium Car
Saturn Aura (892)
Nissan Maxima (891)

Large Car
Hyundai Azera (901)

Small Specialty Under $25,000
Mini Cooper (911)

Near Luxury Car
BMW 3-Series Sedan (919)

Luxury Car
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan (938)

Convertibles Under $30,000
Mini Cooper Convertible (905)

Convertibles Over $30,000
Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (930)

Minivan
Kia Sedona (866)
Hyundai Entourage (866)
Nissan Quest (865)

Small SUV
Hyundai Santa Fe (885)

Medium SUV
Kia Sorento (889)

Medium Crossover
Dodge Magnum (882)

Large SUV
Ford Expedition EL (918)

Near Luxury SUV
Lexus RX 350 (905)

Luxury SUV
Mercedes-Benz ML (915)

Standard Pick-Up
Honda Ridgeline (879)

Full-Size Pickup
Nissan Titan (876)
Ford F-150 (875)

Heavy Duty Pickup
Ford F-250/350 (876)