For the sixth year in a row Enterprise Rent-A-Car has topped the US Car Rental Satisfaction Study published by J. D. Power and Associates.

The iconic study, which is now into its 15th year, calculated nearly 13,000 evaluations from a range of leisure and business customers who booked hire cars from airport locations across the US in the past 12 months.

The criteria used to measure satisfaction included fees and costs, the vehicle itself, the pick-up and return process, the reservation process and also whether there were transfers from the arrivals gate to the hire depot.

Overall, there was no significant change in public perception from last year’s survey which represented a major trend away from the two previous years where dissatisfaction was at alarmingly high levels. The survey’s publishers have attributed the stabilisation of consumer feedback to the greater commitment of industry players to better fleet management which has allowed customer demand to be better met while reducing overheads.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car managed to achieve a figure of 37 points over the industry average of 733 out of a possible 1000. Not far behind Enterprise at 770 was National Car Rental on 757 and Hertz on 747. The survey paid tribute to the three operators who have managed to record the highest passenger numbers with the lowest complaints ration.

National made strong gains on its 2008 points score while Hertz earned highly for the provision of airport shuttle services. Alamo Rent-A-Car and Avis Rent-A-Car were just below the industry average with Dollar Thrifty and Budget Rent-A-Car further back.