I love Consumer Reports Magazine (almost). But in the past they have dogged the regular Cooper . In the June issue they once again dog us a bit. This article in particular dogged the convertible. I sent them the following editorial letter: (doubt it will get published but they do recognize that Cooper owners are one of the most vocal groups who love their cars regardless of the flaws so I wanna keep that thought going. If you wanna tell them how much u love your Cooper email www.consumerreports.org/lettertoeditor

If anyone wants to see the article just let me know & I will email it to u.

My letter to the Consumer Reports Editor follows:

In disagreement with your recent Mini Cooper Convertible review & in defense of Little Red Riding Bonnet's virtue, I encourage you to publish the following:

Who buys a convertible for the rear seat leg room, visibility, or trunk space? No one. Lets compare apples to apples. Lets not compare a convertible to a roomy, gas-hogging, large, family sedan.

Why did you say the Cooper had "minimal" body lean on corners? The Cooper has MAX cornering ability with practically NO lean & I challenge you to find a car that compares. You made one of the most positive attributes of the car sound "minimal".

What are you talking about when you dog the headlights? What does "sharp cutoff with low beams" mean? The Zenon headlights on the car are excellent. I have never had such a clear view of the road while driving at night as I do on my Cooper.

When you say the car requires premium "fuel". Trucks use fuel, cars use gas. So what if the car uses premium gas. The gas mileage is killer for such a fast sporty little car (25MPG +). With such a small-but-fast engine one should expect the need of a bit of extra care.

I do not see why you say that the "control layout of the car is confusing". I love the control layout. Every control is in the forward, center area of the car & only an idiot couldn't figure it out. All controls are easily, thoughtlessly, reachable.

The Mini Cooper is not "recommended" because of its repair history. I will give into the fact that this loveable little car has a few quirks (most of which will be repaired during the warranty period) but to even place the Toyota Solara or the PT Cruiser in the same class as the much-better-driving Mini Cooper should be a crime. How can you even begin to recommend those 2 cars over the Cooper. It appears you solely based those 2 recommendations on repair history alone because the Cooper is, hands-down, a much better handling & performing car.

I normally use Consumer Reports as a very strong influence in all my buying decisions. I am very thankful that I ignored your present & past reports on the Mini Cooper. My Mini Cooper Convertible is the best car I have ever owned. Your negativity towards this car has made me rethink my trust in your research.

Sincerely,

Teresa Tucker

(owner of Little Red Riding Bonnet)

 

Way to go Teresa! I'm glad you let them have it. I quit reading that magazine several years ago when I had a disagreement with some of the things they had published.

 

Minimal body lean means it doesn't roll much, which is a good thing. They were complimenting the car. Same with sharp cutoff for the lights...the horizontal line where the illumination ends is sharp and distinctive. Again, a compliment to the car.
I'm certainly no defender of CR, but I hope you haven't sent this letter yet...

 

I also read that article when I saw the magazine at a friend's house this weekend. Ridiculous! They have a point when it comes to reliability, but nearly everything else in the review was typical Consumer Reports BS. Nice job on your rebuttal! I'm glad you called them on their headlights comment, though I'm quite sure they weren't referring to the xenons.

Edit: Squirlz, CR made their comment about the headlight seem decidedly negative, and I'd guess that 90% of people wouldn't know what they're talking about, and interpret it as a negative.

 

I gave up on CR a couple of years ago when they did an article on gourmet coffees...but their so-called gourmet coffees included some exotics and other price point leaders. It was hardly comparing apples to apples, and made me question their methodology. A trip to the local library to review past issues showed me without a doubt that there can be little objectivity in testing when the selection process is inherently biased. Pete

 

I admit I haven't read the article, I'm aware that CR rates cars based on their value only as transportation appliances. I do hope though that a rebuttal from a MINI owner doesn't confuse anything.

 

The letter has already been sent. I really don't think my rebuttal confused anything. I was just trying to show that Mini Cooper owner's love their cars & disagree with CR on their refusal to recommend the Cooper.

I stand corrected on on the fact that "sharp cutoff" is a good thing for headlights. I did not know what it meant & that is why I asked CR what it meant in my letter. The way CR wrote about sharp cutoff they made it sound negative.

I do know what "minimal lean" means . CR mentioned (practically in passing) that the car had minimal lean. They played up the cars negatives while ignoring or trivializing the many Mini positive attributes such as "minimal lean".

 

But I was surprised at thier review of the 05 Mustang. noting all it's bad points (like gas milage) but pointing out that in bang for the buck in it's class it's a good value! Makes me thing they hired a car enthusiast.

They make no comment of the fact that enthusiast cars have much more demanding clientel, and that skews the numbers. Also, they always say new=bad, and flavor the ratings of the newer years by the teathing pain of the early cars. Even though there are plenty of stats that they could access.

Sometimes they do quote owner satifaction, and the Mini always scores high there, leaving them with some unexplained inconsitancies....

Just don't expect any value from thier auto reviews unless your looking for a Minivan or a Camry.....

Matt

 

What do you expect from people reviewing cars in white lab coats?

I once subscribed to consumer reports but let the subscription expire since I didn't think their review criteria was all that meaningful.

I find the best reviews are from people that own the product and use it over time.