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> CR says Chrysler’s Pacifica was one that contributed to the drop in rankings thanks to the minivan’s infotainment and transmission issues. Every single "down

> CR says Chrysler’s Pacifica was one that contributed to the drop in rankings thanks to the minivan’s infotainment and transmission issues. Every single "downgrade" I read about is either infotainment or transmission or both. Except Honda, which apparently has shit locks on it's kid hauler. I'm a bit skeptical of consumer reports after actually reading it. My car, a Subaru WRX is given low marks for "stiff ride and constant engine noise", which I think re reason why people buy WRXs, not avoid them.

tibbydudeza 7y ago
Yep you buy a WRX for the drivetrain and rally heritage ... the terrible plastic interior was a moot point.
- huffmsa 7y ago
  The seats are comfy enough, the steering wheel is beefy, the only point of failure I've had is the battery. Otherwise, it's exactly what it's supposed to be. CR give my other car, a Jaguar F-Pace low marks for "loud engine and cabin, stiff choppy ride and bad infotainment." Which to me sounds like a lot of soccer mom's thought they were getting "luxury" utility vehicle but accidentally purchase a 350hp supercharged v6 "sport" utility vehicle. Cars are for driving, not "infotainment".
  - basch 7y ago
    These ratings are comparative. If youve mostly interacted with your two brands, and not the other ones at the top of the list, how can you compare them and say yours isnt worse? Infotainment includes maps, air conditioning, heat, radio. Those are important things to do easily in a car.
    - linksnapzz 7y ago
      HVAC is certainly not infotainment, there are safety implications if the defrosters don't work. The HVAC controls should never be at the mercy of whatever phoned-in UI the radio and satnav have in your car.
  - vkou 7y ago
    > Cars are for driving, not "infotainment". If you're one of the ~30 million Americans, crawling along in your single-occupant vehicle through rush-hour gridlock, you will care a lot more about the 'infotainment' part of your car than the 'driving' part.
    - ghaff 7y ago
      Or you're just on a long drive. I care about how vehicles drive (though I mostly prioritize carrying a bunch of stuff over sports car performance). But I'm not sure I'd buy a car that didn't have CarPlay at this point having had rentals with it and without it. (My own vehicle basically predates all that stuff.)
supertrope 7y ago
Consumer Reports’ subscriber base trends older which is obviously not the same demographic as affordable performance car buyers. CR is still a great resource if you know nothing about a product market but enthusiasts outgrow it.
- nostrademons 7y ago
  Also a lot of families - many of their other product reviews are either baby stuff, kitchen appliances, or cleaning products, which are lifesavers if you're a parent and...not all that useful if you're a single urban professional. Safety, infotainment, door locks, and so on are of the utmost importance if you're carting a bunch of kids around. Stiff suspensions and engine noise are anti-features. Those priorities are reversed among driving enthusiasts, but that's not who the magazine's written for.
Marsymars 7y ago
I dig the WRX, but I would love if the engine were quieter. IMO a quieter engine is always desirable - akin to how I always want my computers to have quieter fans for any given level of performance.
- asperous 7y ago
  Not to enthusiasts, who are driving for the experience of driving, including the feel, sound, etc
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    I consider myself an enthusiast, and still consider engine noise to be undesirable. Among various other car things, I'm very enthusiastic for in-car noise cancelling: https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/9/18175748/bose-noise-canceling-system-car-ces-2019 https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/9/18175748/bose-noise-cancel...
    - tmh88j 7y ago
      >Among various other car things, I'm very enthusiastic for in-car noise cancelling: This is one of the biggest gripes of automotive reviewers when it comes to cabin noise and I agree. My GT-R has it (that exact Bose technology you linked) and I find it quite obnoxious. It neuters the sound of engine and all I'm left with is more road and wind noise. Save that for an S-Class, it has no place in sports cars.
      - Marsymars 7y ago
        The article I linked is about a new, separate piece of tech that specifically targets non-engine noise, unlike Bose's currently available offerings, and isn't due to be available in production cars until ~2022 car models.
        tmh88j 7y ago
        >The article I linked is about a new, separate piece of tech that specifically targets non-engine noise, unlike Bose's currently available offerings That is the intended functionality Bose's current tech, but it doesn't work very well for sports cars in my opinion. It's probably just an update that they're re-branding as an entirely different technology.
kube-system 7y ago
CR reviews cars as appliances. Their target market is the mainstream buyer. If you're looking for a enthusiast review, they're the wrong publication. What they do, they do well. Their reviews are consistently: "what my mom would say if she drove it". Consumer Reports is not Car and Driver.
- ghaff 7y ago
  I haven't subscribed to CR for a long time but I found that was their approach to pretty much everything. Which is fine if you're buying an appliance. And, for me, isn't all that far off if I'm buying a car. Certainly, reliability stats are good to have at least. And, to the degree they're weighting criteria differently than I would, I can adjust for that. Where CR really starts to diverge from my needs is when you are, as you say, an enthusiast or a prosumer type user of something like a camera, about which you have a lot of definite opinions. To the degree that CR lines up with what's important to you, it's mostly a coincidence.

tibbydudeza 7y ago

Yep you buy a WRX for the drivetrain and rally heritage ... the terrible plastic interior was a moot point.

huffmsa 7y ago
The seats are comfy enough, the steering wheel is beefy, the only point of failure I've had is the battery. Otherwise, it's exactly what it's supposed to be. CR give my other car, a Jaguar F-Pace low marks for "loud engine and cabin, stiff choppy ride and bad infotainment." Which to me sounds like a lot of soccer mom's thought they were getting "luxury" utility vehicle but accidentally purchase a 350hp supercharged v6 "sport" utility vehicle. Cars are for driving, not "infotainment".
- basch 7y ago
  These ratings are comparative. If youve mostly interacted with your two brands, and not the other ones at the top of the list, how can you compare them and say yours isnt worse? Infotainment includes maps, air conditioning, heat, radio. Those are important things to do easily in a car.
  - linksnapzz 7y ago
    HVAC is certainly not infotainment, there are safety implications if the defrosters don't work. The HVAC controls should never be at the mercy of whatever phoned-in UI the radio and satnav have in your car.
- vkou 7y ago
  > Cars are for driving, not "infotainment". If you're one of the ~30 million Americans, crawling along in your single-occupant vehicle through rush-hour gridlock, you will care a lot more about the 'infotainment' part of your car than the 'driving' part.
  - ghaff 7y ago
    Or you're just on a long drive. I care about how vehicles drive (though I mostly prioritize carrying a bunch of stuff over sports car performance). But I'm not sure I'd buy a car that didn't have CarPlay at this point having had rentals with it and without it. (My own vehicle basically predates all that stuff.)

supertrope 7y ago

Consumer Reports’ subscriber base trends older which is obviously not the same demographic as affordable performance car buyers. CR is still a great resource if you know nothing about a product market but enthusiasts outgrow it.

nostrademons 7y ago
Also a lot of families - many of their other product reviews are either baby stuff, kitchen appliances, or cleaning products, which are lifesavers if you're a parent and...not all that useful if you're a single urban professional. Safety, infotainment, door locks, and so on are of the utmost importance if you're carting a bunch of kids around. Stiff suspensions and engine noise are anti-features. Those priorities are reversed among driving enthusiasts, but that's not who the magazine's written for.

Marsymars 7y ago

I dig the WRX, but I would love if the engine were quieter. IMO a quieter engine is always desirable - akin to how I always want my computers to have quieter fans for any given level of performance.

asperous 7y ago
Not to enthusiasts, who are driving for the experience of driving, including the feel, sound, etc
- Marsymars 7y ago
  I consider myself an enthusiast, and still consider engine noise to be undesirable. Among various other car things, I'm very enthusiastic for in-car noise cancelling: https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/9/18175748/bose-noise-canceling-system-car-ces-2019 https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/9/18175748/bose-noise-cancel...
  - tmh88j 7y ago
    >Among various other car things, I'm very enthusiastic for in-car noise cancelling: This is one of the biggest gripes of automotive reviewers when it comes to cabin noise and I agree. My GT-R has it (that exact Bose technology you linked) and I find it quite obnoxious. It neuters the sound of engine and all I'm left with is more road and wind noise. Save that for an S-Class, it has no place in sports cars.
    - Marsymars 7y ago
      The article I linked is about a new, separate piece of tech that specifically targets non-engine noise, unlike Bose's currently available offerings, and isn't due to be available in production cars until ~2022 car models.
      - tmh88j 7y ago
        >The article I linked is about a new, separate piece of tech that specifically targets non-engine noise, unlike Bose's currently available offerings That is the intended functionality Bose's current tech, but it doesn't work very well for sports cars in my opinion. It's probably just an update that they're re-branding as an entirely different technology.

kube-system 7y ago

CR reviews cars as appliances. Their target market is the mainstream buyer. If you're looking for a enthusiast review, they're the wrong publication. What they do, they do well. Their reviews are consistently: "what my mom would say if she drove it". Consumer Reports is not Car and Driver.

ghaff 7y ago
I haven't subscribed to CR for a long time but I found that was their approach to pretty much everything. Which is fine if you're buying an appliance. And, for me, isn't all that far off if I'm buying a car. Certainly, reliability stats are good to have at least. And, to the degree they're weighting criteria differently than I would, I can adjust for that. Where CR really starts to diverge from my needs is when you are, as you say, an enthusiast or a prosumer type user of something like a camera, about which you have a lot of definite opinions. To the degree that CR lines up with what's important to you, it's mostly a coincidence.