1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Car and Driver Mag bad review

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Zaxcom, May 28, 2009.

  1. Steve Cebu

    Steve Cebu New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2009
    523
    59
    0
    Location:
    Concord, NH
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I tend to prefer cars like the Civic which are more sporty in nature. However C&D is like Fox News some people think it's biased (in a big way) others not.
    Look at ads whenever a car is put up for a review. The car maker buys many more ads.
    I have found that C&D and Motor Trend are biased each in their own ways and for their own reasons.
    For car reviews when I really want to know about a car, I go to Edmunds and their other site Inside Line.
    I have found that I mostly agree with their reviews after I drive the car myself versus C&D or MT.
    The other magazine that I use a lot is Canadian Driver. They have very good reviews.
    CanadianDriver

    The other thing I like, being a New Englander, is to see reviews of cars when they have icicles hanging off the bumpers and road salt all over the windows. :eek:
    Because if you just drive in the Sun States you won't have any idea how well a car does in snow and slush, of which we get a lot in the winter.
    I must have a dozen sites marked for when I research a car, but all of them combined give me a better idea from various sources.
    I did drive an Insight II and it's far too tight in the back seat and very under powered. I could also feel the weirdness in the steering wheel which felt artifically heavy on the highway.
    I like Honda and if I had liked the Insight I would have bought it. Maybe my wife will buy a Hybrid Fit when they come out in a few years to replace her Fit Sport?
    But it will have to be better than the Insight II. :)
     
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    3,000
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Then don't compare it to the Insight. Compare it to Fusion hybrid, Altima hybrid or Camry hybrid. Just saying.
     
  3. Texas911

    Texas911 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2007
    405
    18
    0
    Location:
    Houston, Texas USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    But Toyota did lower the price of the base Prius in response to the Insight. If Toyota thinks its the competition, then so would other people.
     
  4. oldskoul

    oldskoul New Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2009
    17
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    V
    The honda is a better car in most categories who cares, except MPG... Prius is in the close arena. Plus toyota lowered it's price but not as low as Honda. Prius in my opinion is prettier.

    Its all a trade off. In this market it may just come to PRICE for me.
     
  5. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    3,000
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Yes, because Toyota does not have a smaller cheaper hybrid to compete with. It is a year or two away.

    I don't see other comparisons between Compact vs. Mid-size, such as Insight vs. Fusion hybrid or Insight vs. Altima hybrid. They just compare Prius vs. Insight because they look so much alike.
     
  6. Texas911

    Texas911 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2007
    405
    18
    0
    Location:
    Houston, Texas USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Plus CD's ploy sure worked because we're having a big thread about it!
     
  7. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    3,000
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I give that credit to Honda.
     
  8. tone_uk

    tone_uk Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2009
    155
    60
    3
    Location:
    Norwich - UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    N/A

    Ok then - let's level the playing field :D

    I very nearly wet myself laughing reading this!!!

    Jeremy Clarkson Honda Insight 1.3 IMA SE Hybrid review | Driving - Times Online

    :focus:
     
  9. marduk

    marduk New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2009
    56
    10
    1
    Location:
    pdx
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    And of course, having rave reviews of insight isn't a bad things for the potential prius buyer, no? I'd love to see a insight vs. prius war that keeps the prices of both cars competitive. At the very least, it would be some ammo at the dealer negotiation.
     
  10. MSantos

    MSantos EcoAccelerometry

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2006
    581
    252
    1
    Location:
    Canada, Winnipeg
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Technology

    Oops, would that be the same Jeremy Clarkson that endlessly ridiculed a Gen II prius and also took a Gen I Prius into an open field so that he could have bubba shoot military rounds onto it? :rolleyes:

    When Jeremy disses a car then you better regard his comments as a ringing endorsement strictly for the safe buy that the car actually is. ;)


    Cheers;

    MSantos
     
  11. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2006
    2,369
    980
    70
    Location:
    Sunnyvale, California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Hah! Caught Jeremy complimenting the Prius!

     
  12. spwolf

    spwolf Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2005
    3,156
    440
    0
    Location:
    Eastern Europe
    well someone has not to like it :).

    It good to hear different opinion sometimes, it gets you to do better next time.

    Although I believe Insight and Prius are not in the same class.
     
  13. sluday

    sluday New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2008
    251
    16
    0
    Location:
    Jersey Shore
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    They may have to soon. Next year Honda Plans to release a Honda Fit Hybrid for under $15,000 in Japan. Not sure if and when a North America release comes though.
     
  14. scienceexpert

    scienceexpert New Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2009
    54
    6
    0
    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Model:
    II
    The Honda has always had more comfortable seats than Toyota. I have owned both and even ripped out the Toyota seats and but in Nissan Maxima seats.

    As for the steering, the 15" models are being dumped and upgraded at the end of the summer. They will have brushless motors and a better steering, the one on the V model.

    1
     
  15. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    1,389
    951
    4
    Location:
    Foot of Pikes Peak
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    Do you have inside information? There has been no information released indicating that the 15" models will get brushless motors &/or the turning ratio of the Prius V.

    Roy
     
  16. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2005
    29,110
    8,591
    201
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    I was just going to post about this and thankfully there is a thread about it.

    Here's what I couldn't believe... If you look at the picture of the Insight, Prius and the Metro in the background the Prius has the wheel cover on the rear wheel and the wheel cover is not even on the car on the front wheel. How the hell could they publish an article with a picture where one of the cars is missing a wheel cover? I mean if both are missing its one thing, still wrong but to have one on and one off, that's just odd...
     
  17. dakshah

    dakshah Counting the dayz....

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    36
    0
    0
    Location:
    SillyCon Valley-ish
    Model:
    III
  18. seopositive2

    seopositive2 New Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2009
    8
    0
    0
    Location:
    Pakistan
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    toyota is nice car i like it and 15 wheels? then it is not car it is a rail
     
  19. AirKuhl

    AirKuhl New Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2009
    63
    20
    0
    Location:
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    C&D is an enthusiast magazine that values the driving experience over all other parameters. With that in mind, I agree with everything in the article said, since the Insight is marginally better handling than the Prius.

    However, anyone buying either car for the driving experience will be disappointed. They both suck by that standard. By the standard of what they are designed for, IMO the Prius is unmatched.

    Complaining about handling or acceleration in the Prius is like complaining about the towing capacity of a Lotus Elise, or arguing that a screwdriver is a more useful tool than saw. Makes no sense.
     
  20. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2005
    29,110
    8,591
    201
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five

    Here's a picture of the Prius from the article missing one wheel cover. I think they were biased from the beginning... How can a major magazine like Car and Driver publish a picture like this? If you saw the whole 2 page picture it has a picture of the Prius, Insight and metro... Almost like they were trying to make the Prius look 'stupid' or as bad as the metro which didn't even come with wheel hub caps! lol

    [​IMG]