SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What is Love? Every brand wants to be loved by their customers. The challenge is in how to understand Love, and just as important, how to measure it. Strategic Vision has spent the past forty years developing metrics that quantify emotion, culminating in The Edwards Commitment Scale® which captures emotional responses ranging from "I hate it" to "I love it," with “Satisfied” as the middle. “By using a scale that incorporates the natural language of the customer we have the best tool to predict future behavior when it comes to advocacy, loyalty and sales,” reports Alexander Edwards, President of Strategic Vision. Integrated into Strategic Vision's New Vehicle Experience Study (NVES), this scale becomes the key factor in the Customer Love Index™ (CLI) used to identify the Most Loved Vehicles in each segment.

At the top of those findings for 2017 is the Tesla Model X as The Most Loved Vehicle in America. The Model X creates considerable Love across many aspects of the vehicle experience, from power and performance to human-machine-interface (HMI) and driver assistance features, on top of perceived environmental friendliness. The individuality and prestige of the Model X compliment the sense of power that comes from driving one to create an exciting luxury vehicle that owners are proud to call their own.

BMW is the Most Loved luxury brand in 2017, delivering on both performance and workmanship expected of the make and creating strong advocacy and loyalty intention for the brand. Coming in close behind BMW and ahead of Lexus is the emerging luxury brand Genesis. The Genesis G90 is the Most Loved Luxury Car of the year, and the new brand presents a significant challenge to established luxury players. The current Genesis vehicles deliver a product and emotional experience comparable to BMW, at a much stronger perceived value with warranty coverage and level of standard equipment their owners love. “Luxury” is defined by more than just the vehicle itself, making a comparable sales and service experience critical for Genesis to complement its strong products and increase overall advocacy and loyalty.

However, true Love isn’t reserved only for the luxury brands. On the truck side, the Japanese manufacturers have delivered Standard and Full-Size Pickups that their owners truly love, with Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tundra being the Most Loved Vehicles in their respective segments. Any lingering doubts about the ability of Japanese manufacturers’ to produce Loveworthy pickups should be dismissed by the owner response to these trucks. Ridgeline offers comfort through overall quietness inside a truck that is easy to access and use. Tundra builds Love with a truck sized and styled to convey durability and a roomy, easily accessed second row of seating.

Volkswagen may be showing the early signs of a recovery in consideration after its earlier diesel emissions troubles. VW Loyalty Intention has moved closer to the Industry average (39% vs 41%) compared to being under-water last year. VW products continue to create strong positive emotional experiences for owners. Time and efforts to improve brand trustworthiness may make it easier for those owners to remain with the vehicles they Love.

Here is the full list of 2017 Most Loved Vehicle Award winners:

Small Car Mitsubishi Lancer 450 Small Multi-Function Car Honda Civic Hatchback 438 Small Alternative Powertrain (APT) Car Ford C-MAX Energi 380 Mid-Size Car Subaru Impreza Sedan 481 Mid-Size APT Car Ford Fusion Plug-in 474 Full-Size Car Dodge Charger 559 Near-Luxury Car BMW 3-Series Sedan 513 Luxury Car Genesis G90 543 Specialty Coupe MINI Cooper 4-Door Hardtop 586 Premium Coupe Chevrolet Corvette Coupe 603 Standard Convertible Chevrolet Camaro Convertible 514 Premium Convertible/Roadster Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 644 Standard Pickup Honda Ridgeline 368 Full-Size Pickup Toyota Tundra 447 Heavy Duty Pickup Ford F-250/350 443 Entry CUV Nissan Juke 469 Mid-Size SUV Toyota 4Runner 418 Mid-Size CUV Kia Sorento / Nissan Murano (TIE) 403 Full-Size Utility Nissan Armada 475 Near-Luxury Utility Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 5-Door 495 Luxury SUV Lexus GX 522 Luxury CUV Porsche Macan 580 Minivan Honda Odyssey 352 Best Model Tesla Model X 662 Best Brand Under $26,000 Volkswagen 397 Best Mass-Market Brand Subaru 425 Best Luxury Brand BMW 488 Best Full-Line Corporation Volkswagen Group of America 430

Strategic Vision’s Customer Love Index (CLI) is based on results from the New Vehicle Experience Study® surveying 34,064 new vehicle buyers who purchased in Oct. 2016 – Apr. 2017, after their first 90 days of ownership. CLI uses the Edwards Commitment Scale® to directly measure Love in 120 different aspects of the ownership experience. These, combined with dozens of additional questions, gauge the strength and type of emotional connection buyers have with their vehicles.

Strategic Vision is a research-based consultancy with experience understanding consumers’ and constituents’ decision-making systems for a variety of Fortune 100 clients, including automotive manufacturers. Its unique expertise is using ValueCentered Psychology to identify consumers’ comprehensive, motivational hierarchies, including the product attributes, personal benefits, value/emotions, and images that drive perceptions and behaviors. For more, visit www.strategicvision.com.