FI showroom red and grey logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Subaru Wins Best Overall Brand in KBB's Brand Image Awards

Subaru, Lexus and Ford take top honors with the highest average scores among all 12 brand watch factors. The awards are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Strategic Insights' Brand Watch study.

by Staff
April 11, 2017
Subaru Wins Best Overall Brand in KBB's Brand Image Awards

 

3 min to read


IRVINE, Calif. — Subaru retained its Best Overall Brand title for the second consecutive year in Kelley Blue Book’s 2017 Brand Image Awards, which are based on consumer automotive perception data from Kelley Blue Book Strategic Insights’ Brand Watch study.

Subaru also won Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand. As the Best Overall Brand, Subaru captured the highest average scores among all 12 Brand Watch factors, including affordability, driving comfort, driving performance, durability/reliability, exterior styling, fuel efficiency, interior layout, prestige/sophistication, reputation, ruggedness, safety and technology.

Ad Loading...

2017 Brand Image Award Winners: Non-Luxury Brands

Subaru: Best Overall Brand

Subaru: Most Trusted Brand

Honda: Best Value Brand

GMC: Most Refined Brand

Ad Loading...

Subaru: Best Performance Brand

Mazda: Best Car Styling Brand

The Forrester, Crosstrek, and Outback contributed to Subaru’s overall success. The automaker has earned Most Trusted Brand and Best Performance Brand titles since 2015.

Kelley Blue Book’s Brand Watch is an online brand and model perception tracking study tapping into 12,000-plus, in-market new-vehicle shoppers annually on KBB.com. The highly comprehensive study offers insight into how shoppers perceive important factors driving their purchase decisions, and captures brand/model familiarity and loyalty among new-car shoppers.

“Superior product lineups and compelling marketing communications from automakers continue to influence consumer opinion, driving interest in particular brands, and, most importantly, positively affecting vehicle consideration,” said Rick Wainschel, vice president of customer analytics and insights for Kelley Blue Book. “Many of this year’s winners continue to attract car shoppers based on a variety of brand attributes, and these standouts reinforce familiarity and loyalty among new-car buyers.”

Ad Loading...


Lexus also came up big this year. It recaptured the title of Best Overall Luxury Brand, earning the top average Brand Watch factor scores among all luxury automakers. The brand is highly regarded for its strong lineup among consumers, according to KBB, with the RX, ES, NX Hybrid, IS, GS, and LS as the primary drivers of Lexus’ success. In addition to its top luxury award, Lexus took home the Most Trusted Luxury Brand award for the second consecutive year.

Lexus previously won Most Trusted Luxury Brand in 2013 and 2014.

2017 Brand Image Award Winners:  Luxury Brands

Lexus: Best Overall Luxury Brand

Lexus: Most Trusted Luxury Brand

Ad Loading...

Buick: Best Value Luxury Brand

Mercedes-Benz: Most Refined Luxury Brand

Porsche: Best Performance Luxury Brand

Jaguar: Best Car Styling Luxury Brand

For the fourth year in a row, Ford claimed the top spot among truck shoppers, winning the Best Overall Truck Brand category. Ford has won eight of the nine times the vehicle information site has announced the award.

Ad Loading...

2017 Brand Image Award Winner: Truck Brand

Ford: Best Overall Truck Brand

Toyota outranked Ford in 2013.

Other noteworthy winners for 2017 include Porsche, Buick, Honda, and Mazda. Porsche is a seven-time repeat winner in the Best Performance Luxury Brand category, an honor it won behind its 911, Cayenne, Panamera, and Macan models.

Buick earned this year’s Best Value Luxury Brand behind its Verano, Encore, Regal, and Enclave models. They all scored within the Top 20 models for value and ranked high in perceived affordability and fuel efficiency.

Ad Loading...

On the non-luxury side, Honda took home the Best Value Brand honor for the third consecutive year behind its Civic, Fit, Accord, and CR-V models. Mazda regained its Best Car Styling Brand title behind its MAZDA6, MAZDA 3, AND MX-5 Miata. Mercedes-Benz, GMC, and Jaguar were also repeat winners for 2017.

For more on Kelley Blue Book’s Brand Image Awards, click here.

More Auto Finance

Photo of person grabbing stacks of cash from a surface
Auto Financeby Gil Van OverMarch 30, 2026

Permission or Approval: When to Notify Finance Sources

Credit card down payments, multiple vehicle purchases and even straw purchases can be completed without committing bank fraud, as long as you tell the bank first.

Read More →
Three people's hands on desk as one signs a document
Auto Financeby Hannah MitchellMarch 11, 2026

At-Risk Auto Borrowers Drive Looser Credit Access

Cox Automotive’s index shows the subprime segment, long loan terms, negative-equity borrowers and down payment amounts all grew in February despite ever-higher vehicle prices.

Read More →
Auto Financeby Lauren LawrenceFebruary 23, 2026

Auto Loan Forecast Bucks Market Trend

Auto loan originations rose over 6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, but TransUnion predicts a slight decline in auto loan growth this year, making it an outlier in the company's overall lending forecast.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Auto Financeby Hannah MitchellFebruary 11, 2026

Auto Credit More Plentiful

Growing access shows greater lender appetite for risk as consumers take on heavier debt burden in an inflated market.

Read More →
Auto Financeby Hannah MitchellJanuary 27, 2026

Auto Loans Long as Stretch Limos

More consumers, faced with ever-rising car prices, are adapting by agreeing to longer loan terms despite the cost of added interest payments.

Read More →
A person holds a stack of cash with a small red toy car on top.
Auto Financeby StaffJanuary 20, 2026

AutoPayPlus Launches RePayPlus

The reinsured biweekly payment program offers auto dealers with customer retention and reinsurance structure.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
F&Iby Hannah MitchellJanuary 12, 2026

Auto Credit Access Loosens

December brought some of the best borrowing availability for consumers in years, though lenders tightened their reins on riskier segments of the market.

Read More →
A hand holding small burlap money bags next to a toy red car, symbolizing auto financing, loan payments, and dealership profitability.
Industryby StaffNovember 14, 2025

Report Uncovers $4.7B Opportunity for Auto Dealers

Solving mismatched payment quotes can boost sales, profits

Read More →
Industryby Hannah MitchellNovember 10, 2025

Auto Loans More in Reach

October easier to tap despite approval rates falling

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Industryby Hannah MitchellNovember 3, 2025

Q3 Auto Loans Reveal Stress

Data reflect growing finance activity on the extreme ends of credit risk scale

Read More →