Consumer Reports twists the knife

I dropped my subscription to CR after their flawed polling resulted in reporting major problems with the 2010's brakes. It was obvious that people reported "problems" when what they really had was a "recall". The cars they "like" get special treatment while those they don't like often receive off the wall comments about minor flaws.

 

We could have a slightly informed discussion if the OP posted *why* CR advises consumers to avoid these cars.

I have been a CR reader for a long time, and a subscriber on and off -- currently on. I routinely disagree with their opinions, but I do not support CR because of opinions, I support it because CR is the strongest consumer advocate, by far, in the United States. Their reliability surveys are the best data available in the world, and few organizations even think of reaching their level of transparency.

Did CR have a silly crazy fit about Prius brakes ? Obviously.
Did they try to spin their attacks as valid when final analyses exonerating Prius came out ? Yep.
Do they usually get things right ? Absolutely
Do they usually own up to errors ? With few exceptions.

Who shall we listen to instead ? NHTSA ? LOL

 

Color me not surprised at all. ...and yet, I have yet to read a coherent reason why the media hate this car so much.

Could you post the article?

 

So CR didn't expand on their initial review posted on Autoblog?

I just watched that video again. I got a chuckle at how they couldn't even say the good things in a positive way: "The automatic climate control is an unusual feature in this category." As if it's a bad thing!?


My history with CR doing car reviews is rather biased. I almost always buy sports cars, and CR hates sports cars. They don't understand anything about fun or interesting or involving. They blasted the Lotus Elise because it was "too noisy", LOL! As such, I put no stock in their opinions, because just like almost every media outlet, their agenda doesn't come close to mine. The only magazines I trust are Grassroots Motorsports and EVO [the thrill of driving].

 

Thank you.

See, this is why I am not bothered by CR in this case. They clearly spell out what they do not like. Way before CR wrote anything about the Prius 'c', I went to see it with my wife. We did not bother taking a test-drive because we did not like the interior. If I had thought differently, I would have pursued an evaluation.

If I had read the CR criticism before seeing the car, I still would have checked it out because their criticisms are subjective dislikes I may or not agree with. I do however grant that CR has a very good idea of what mainstream America wants in a car. If CR is whining about cheap materials, you can bet mainstream America is too. Bob Wilson likes to lament CR's relative insensitivity to fuel economy; while certainly true, it is not the only thing where mainstream PriusChat diverges from mainstream America and CR. Another is upfront cost.

Honestly folks, it is unreasonable to malign CR for values different than our own, so long as CR is transparent in its reasons. Particularly since PC is in the tiny minority.

 

The Prius C is one of the hottest selling cars worldwide. CR has, shall we say...lost the conversation. This is the consequence of having no credibility.

 

CR credibility is just fine, but you do have to keep in mind the audience they write for.

 

...I am having some gripes on CR hybrid/EV coverage.
I wrote 'em once but got no feedback.
I thought they should be exposing MPGe as a misleading metric.

 

Why is it strange the Civic's there? The '12 Civic scored too low to recommend.

It's nothing new that CR doesn't recommend cars that don't do well in their tests despite good reliability (e.g. Toyota Yaris, Honda Insight, etc.) CR's been doing this for ages. The Scion iQ scored very badly in their tests and thus isn't recommended either (but there's no reliability data yet).

Here are some examples showing it's nothing new (search for recommen):
Automaker Report Cards: Honda Leads Again, Mercedes-Benz Improves, Chrysler Lags: Consumer Reports http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/
Car brands reviewed by Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports Automakers Report Card 2011: Ford Most Improved, But Honda, Subaru Still Lead Pack: Consumer Reports http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/
BMW Gets "Very Good" Rating in Consumer Reports' Tests of Sporty SUVs: Consumer Reports http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/

Perhaps only now are people here taking notice since it has Prius is in the name.

 

Highs: Fuel economy, turning circle, smooth transmission, good rear-seat room for two, IIHS crash-test results.
Lows: Acceleration, noise, ride, driving position, rear visibility, fit and finish, small trunk.

CR gives it a fair hearing. I came to same conclusions when I set out to buy the C but was turned off by its cheapness especially in comparison to the Prius III which felt like a luxury car in comparison for not much more money.

I really don't get CR's mileage tests as it rates the Prius C at 43 mpg overall and the Prius III at 44 mpg overall. But this applies to all cars as Honda Fit, what CR recommends over the C, is rated 33 mpg.

As with any hybrid, people are buying it for the fuel efficiency, so I think most will overlook the "Lows" and buy it for the "Highs", fuel efficiency and predicted good repair and resale value.

 

Yep, reviews are just one person's preferences; the standard tests and reliability ratings are where I also find value.

Reading that one fellow does not like a no frills model is pretty predictable.

Honest disclosure: I think the Yaris and iQ are wonderful cars, and it does not bother me one whit that CR disagrees.

 

Not in Consumer Reports case when they test a car. They have set tests, multiple testers over time. It is very much a "company" decision not someone having a bad hair day.

 

CR has a test suite that is quite objective, large dataset surveys; and the part people here are complaining about, subjective car drives ala Car&Driver. It is a 3 part symphony, and readers should be able to distinguish between them.

 

But the subject tests on comfort etc are by many people and they are based on criteria for testing so a lot of "subjectivity" is taken out. It's not "how does it feel". It's a series of defined criteria and based on multiple testers. The rationalization for dismissing the CR criticisms, that it was just someone having a bad day or an axe to grind against hybrids, is totally bogus.

As someone who just went through the buying process and DID NOT read the CR report in advance, I came to exactly the same conclusions about Prius C and got at Prius III.

 

So you share the opinions of the CR guy. Congratulations. So what ?

 

CR's "objective" metrics are still misplaced for the automotive driving enthusiast. My long-term disrespect towards CR is hardly stems from this Prius c review. The only car I've owned they "recommended" I ended up dumping for reliability reasons, the Golf TDI. The Golf, while a very nice car, has some notable ergonomic problems [mainly ingress/egress are crap, and inboard knee room is pinched], and of course the primary component on the car that fails [and costs $9k to fix] is not covered under warranty. Why would anyone with good conscience recommend that? As such, CR's recommendations are misguided and out of context at best, and obviously fail to differentiate among demographics [i.e. soccer moms, track day enthusiasts, McDonalds drive-thru specialists, etc.]