I never really like consumer reports to much to begin with since I have always thought they don't know a thing about automobiles. I mean I would listen to them about buying a toaster or an oven but for cars they just seem clueless.

I was at a newstand the other day just flipping through stuff and saw the New Consumer Reports with all the brand new cars in it. So I started flipping through it checking some vehicles I own and some vehicles that are on the lot of the dealership I work at now. I look at the MINI first and for 2003 and 2004 it has almost all top ratings all they way down and for 2002 just a couple of below average ratings. CR a the end fo their little one paragraph blurb still says that reliablity ratings are bellow average. HUhh for the past two years it has scored at either the highest or second highest ratings for all of their categories but is still bellow average. I am glad I was not graded on their averages while I was in college.

Flip over to the Jaguar X-Type. I have a couple of used ones on my lot and I am thinking about buying one. They drive nice and the AWD will be good up here now that I moved from VA to CT. Pretty much the same ratings as the MINI. The 2002 X-Types were a little weak but 2003 and 2004 were very strong. They still said the same thing that relibality was below average and gave the predicted relability their second lowest rating the same as they gave the MINI. I just don't see how two years of B+ and A- grades plus one year of C+ and B+ grades average to a D-.

Now I flip to the back where the newst vehicles are that have not been out long enough to be tested or have reliablity ratings. I work for a Land Rover dealership now so I of course check out our products. Quick little blurb about the LR3 nothing really surprised me there it is a great vehicle. I see the Range Rover and now I am looking for the bit about the Range Rover Sport but I can't find a picture or any description of it. Odd I think it came out a few weeks ago they should have something ont.

I read the blurb on the Range Rover more carefuly and thats when I realize what CR did and when I realize that they now jack about cars. They listed the Range Rover Sport as what was essentialy a trim level option of the full sized Range Rover. They listed the Range Rover as still using the BMW 4.4 liter V8 when Range Rover is now using the same Jaguar 4.4 liter V8 as the LR3 but with five more horsepower. The BMW engine and transmission were replaced in 2006 with the jag engine and trans. They quoted the specs of the Jag engine but called it a BMW.

The Range Rover Sport is not a trim level of the full size Range Rover it is a completly seperate model that is not even based on the same platform as the Range Rover. The Range Rover Sport is based on the LR3 platform and it shares many of the technical features of the LR3 includeing Terrain Response that is not even avaliable on the full size Range Rover.

This information has been out for months but CR still screwed it up royally. I am planning to clean up this a little bit and send it to CR see what they say.

 

Remember the VW Rabbit? Consumer Reports highly recommended this car when it came out so I bought one. It was the worse car I ever had. I could not keep it running; the clutch broke, etc. The next year CR came out and apologized for recommending this car and said no one should ever buy one. It was such an unreliable car I got rid of it the second year I had it. ski

 

My 82 rabbit did me well until 2003 when I sold it and bought my MC.
It has since moved to Arizona, and its new owner is still having a ball
with it.

Click on: TJ's Album, then TJ's 82 Rabbit S http://www.flatfourvw.com/gallery/

It looks a bit different now compared to when I had it. My mods
were more stealth and less show.

 

You were lucky with your Rabbit. I never knew if I was going to get home from any other location I was at. I had fantasies of aiming it at the dealer's front window and....The dealer was nasty and would do nothing about this lemmon that I had. ski

 

I had an 83 VW Rabbit GTi that i had an absolute blast with up to about 160,000 miles when i sold it. Great ski car and just a fun all around high school and college car. Sorry to hear you had so many problems. I put a water pump in at about 115,000 and a new clutch around 140,000, other than that, nothing other than regular wear items.

 

I remember when Consumer Reports kept rating the 3 series BMW as a Best Buy, but that car's reliability record has slipped a little. With MINI's reliability record improving and its resale value being so good Consumer Reports should be giving it a high rating--in about 10 years when they finally realize it.

 

I heartily agree with Azwed. Consumer Reports does seem to know their stuff about appliances, but they really don't understand cars. Especially enthusiast cars.

But, hey, nobody's right about everything.

 

for any car but Camry or Taurus types... Don't waste your time or effort.

But that being said, the US car mags pretty much blow too! All the hurd was singing Z3 praises. Then when the Z4 comes out, all these references to poor Z3 handling, and scary performance of the Z3 M variant...... funny, you didn't read that while BMW was placing adds for the car....

Matt

 

My '76 Rabbit had 242,000 miles on it when it finally died because my wife drove it away while I was draining the oil In all those miles I'd gone thru several sets of tires and a couple of batteries, replaced the brake pads four times and the belts once. Oh, and two timing belts. Nothing else. Great little car.

 

Consumer Reports is very pedestrian in their auto evauations. Let's consider this; since car enthusiasts universally disagree with CR (except that Hondas and Toyotas are reliable cars with good resale value) what confidence factor can we place on their appliance reviews? How about it all you toaster-philes out there - do you agree with CR?