For the second time in three years, the Tesla Model S has been voted the "Most Loved Model" in the United States.. The electric sedan earned a Consumer Love Index (CLI) of 652 out of a possible 1000, which easily put it in first place; the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan earned the next-highest index, with a score of 583.

In case you've never heard of this award before, the CLI was created by brand consulting firm Strategic Vision, and measures the amount of love buyers experience with their new cars and trucks. The San Diego, California-based agency surveyed owners of vehicles available on the market between October 2015 and July 2016, and compiled data from more than 120 different aspects of the ownership experience, ranging from interior door handles to taillight design to performance. Owners grade each factor on a scale from “7—I Love It” to “1—I Hate It”.

The Model S coming out on top isn't a huge surprise. Owners of the electric luxury sedan are famously fanatical about their car and the brand. It's this passion that helped it capture this designation in the index's inaugural award in 2014; Tesla would have repeated its success the following year, but due to sampling reasons, Strategic Visions couldn't include it in the 2015 CLI. So the brand went out of its way to ensure enough owners were surveyed to keep it in the running for 2016.

Why is the Model S so popular even in its fourth year in the market? Compared to other luxury models, Model S owners are happier with their vehicle's acceleration from stop, technical innovations, and electronic displays, explains Alexander Edwards, President of Strategic Vision.

"It's a performance car first, and an environmentally-friendly electric vehicle second," says Edwards, and that's what sets it apart from other EVs and alternative powertrain vehicles on the market.