Ford Super Duty Lineup Wins 2025 U.S. APEAL Award

As a brand, Ford enjoyed a solid improvement in the 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study compared to last year, which is designed to specifically measure owner satisfaction with new-vehicle design and performance. After falling below the mass market segment average of 838 points with a score of 831 in 2024, Ford wound up nearly matching the segment average of 840 this time around with a score of 838. In the process, a handful of models also won individual APEAL awards, including the Ford Super Duty.

The Ford Super Duty took home top honors in the large heavy-duty truck segment, beating out the second-place GMC Sierra HD and the rest of its rivals, including the Chevy Silverado HD lineup. It joins the Ford Mustang, which ranked first in the sports car segment in the 2025 APEAL study, as America’s pony car beat out the second-place Mini Cooper, while no other vehicles in that class made the cut this time around.

J.D. Power’s APEAL Study asks vehicle owners to consider 37 different attributes, including the sense of comfort they feel when hopping in those vehicles and the excitement they garner from the driving experience itself. Those responses are then aggregated to compute an overall APEAL Index score, and this time around, is based on responses from 92,964 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. Interestingly, the 2025 APEAL Study’s overall satisfaction of 851 is the highest since the study was last redesigned in 2020, signaling that owners are more excited about their new rides than ever.

“Manufacturers have made significant advancements that continue to redefine the vehicle ownership experience and have become more adept at translating innovation into meaningful customer engagement,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “However, the study finds that owners of new models have lower levels of satisfaction with vehicle setup and startup – as well as infotainment systems – compared with owners of carryover models. This suggests that increasing technology and menu complexity remain persistent challenges for the industry.”