A perceived quality study in the US suggests that Honda ranks highest among mainstream brands, followed closely by Toyota.

According to ALG's 2012 Perceived Quality Study (PQS), Honda managed a winning score of 81.3. The stats also suggest that Ford and Hyundai have had the highest level of improvement in perception of quality among all manufacturers during the last five years.

Since 2008, Ford's perception of quality has improved by nearly 37 percent, while Hyundai's perception of quality has increased by 25 percent. The release of ALG's 2012 Perceived Quality Study (PQS) shows Ford ranking fourth, with Hyundai above the mainstream average.

Subaru took third spot, while Nissan, Volkswagen and Mazda were all ranked above the average.

Among luxury brands, Lexus was highest ranked for the second consecutive year, with a perceived quality score of 85.4. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche round out the top four.

"Changing the perception of quality is a long-term proposition," said Eric Lyman, ALG's Vice President of Residual Value Solutions.

"Consumers recognise the product improvements made by Ford and Hyundai. Honda and Toyota are still widely recognized as being the quality leaders, but as more consumers increasingly consider brands like Subaru, Ford and Hyundai, that perception gap erodes."

Now in its fifth year, ALG's Perceived Quality Study is a semi-annual consumer survey measuring the perceived quality of automotive brands. PQS reports the opinions of more than 3000 US consumers in order to gauge perceptions of mainstream and luxury brands.

Sure, this study is US-based, but we thought it'd make interesting reading for South African motorists anyway.

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What do you make of the results?