Car review sites?

[pete6032]

I am considering purchasing a AWD subcompact SUV or crossover. Been looking at Consumer Reports and they basically seem to hate the subcompact Jeeps, Buick Encore, Mini Countryman, Chevy Trax, Ford Ecosport, and love the Subaru Impreza/Crosstrek, Hyundai Konda, Mazda CX-3, like the Honda HRV.

I have a hard time believing all these Chevy Ford Buick Jeep are that bad because I see TONS of them on the road. Is it worth it for me to drive the ones CR has dumped on? Are there any other good websites for car reviews?

Moved from OT.
admin allisolm

 

[BarkingGhostar]

No accounting for stupidity

 

[ultimatebob]

I like Car and Driver reviews, although they really tend to focus on sports cars. You can also find Motortrend reviews on YouTube as well.

 

[dasherHampton]

Cnet generally seems to do a good job imo but I'm certainly no expert.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Just go looking on Youtube for the one with the least complaining videos. Usually they are informative about certain issues. And while I have never owns a Subaru, I do know several owners that swear by them--but its a leap of faith for me and so I have not found it and not yet own one.

 

[ultimatebob]

Just go looking on Youtube for the one with the least complaining videos. Usually they are informative about certain issues. And while I have never owns a Subaru, I do know several owners that swear by them--but its a leap of faith for me and so I have not found it and not yet own one.

You have to be careful, though. There are some YouTube car reviewers (cough Straight Pipes cough) that never seem to have much of anything negative to say about a car.

 

[stargazr]

I used this site recently -

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks?src=mainnavhome

 

[BarkingGhostar]

But those are not the ones you are looking for.

 

[BudAshes]

I'd probably go Buick if I was more interested in the interior/comfort or the crosstrek with the 2.5 engine if I wanted better durability/tougher car for lasting in the snow/dirt.

 

[ondma]

I like cars.com. I consider Consumer Reports a very good source.
Just my 2 cents, but I consider the Impreza/Crosstrek the go to for adverse driving conditions (light off roading/snowy roads), and the Kona/CX-30/HRV less capable in adverse road conditions, but more sporty if the vast majority of driving is done on dry, smooth roads. Consumer Reports also biases (dont mean that in a bad way) their road tests to include fuel economy/safety/comfort/reliability. That is why they rate most jeep models poorly. They are great for off roading, but somewhat crude for daily driving and have generally poor reliability. I have an Impreza and am quite happy with it. The AWD and soft ride quality are great for Minnesota weather and roads with lots of pot holes, snow ruts, and frost heaves.
The base 2L engine in the Crosstrek and Impreza gets a lot of criticism, but it is adequate. I do wish the 2.5L in this year's uplevel Crosstreks was the across the board base engine though.

 

[pete6032]

I like cars.com. I consider Consumer Reports a very good source.
Just my 2 cents, but I consider the Impreza/Crosstrek the go to for adverse driving conditions (light off roading/snowy roads), and the Kona/CX-30/HRV less capable in adverse road conditions, but more sporty if the vast majority of driving is done on dry, smooth roads. Consumer Reports also biases (dont mean that in a bad way) their road tests to include fuel economy/safety/comfort/reliability. That is why they rate most jeep models poorly. They are great for off roading, but somewhat crude for daily driving and have generally poor reliability. I have an Impreza and am quite happy with it. The AWD and soft ride quality are great for Minnesota weather and roads with lots of pot holes, snow ruts, and frost heaves.
The base 2L engine in the Crosstrek and Impreza gets a lot of criticism, but it is adequate. I do wish the 2.5L in this year's uplevel Crosstreks was the across the board base engine though.

I will mostly be driving in the Midwest and always on paved roads. Occasionally need to make winter trips to some hilly/icy states so looking to check that box.

 

[nakedfrog]

How long do you plan to keep the vehicle? If it's past the warranty period, I would definitely skip the Jeep and Mini.

 

[shortylickens]

I am considering purchasing a AWD subcompact SUV or crossover. Been looking at Consumer Reports and they basically seem to hate the subcompact Jeeps, Buick Encore, Mini Countryman, Chevy Trax, Ford Ecosport, and love the Subaru Impreza/Crosstrek, Hyundai Konda, Mazda CX-3, like the Honda HRV.

I have a hard time believing all these Chevy Ford Buick Jeep are that bad because I see TONS of them on the road. Is it worth it for me to drive the ones CR has dumped on? Are there any other good websites for car reviews?

74 million people voted for Donald Trump.

 

[manly]

Edmunds and U.S. News are good for mainstream reviews/rankings.

 

[repoman0]

My fiancée is shopping for a vehicle in the same segment to replace her Chevy volt lease. I don’t really watch videos or read about modern cars since my vehicular interests are stuck in the past, but I have found that I like the Alex on Autos YouTube channel. Fiancee has enjoyed his videos too for getting to know the car a bit before we go drive them. We’re looking at ..

BMW X3 PHEV
Audi Q5 PHEV
Mazda CX-5
RAV4 PHEV

Guess that’s it for now. I’m pushing for banking the money that some of these vehicles go for, particularly the top two, and waiting for a nice clean mid 90s 993 to pop up instead, but it’s not going well

 

[manly]

My fiancée is shopping for a vehicle in the same segment to replace her Chevy volt lease. I don’t really watch videos or read about modern cars since my vehicular interests are stuck in the past, but I have found that I like the Alex on Autos YouTube channel. Fiancee has enjoyed his videos too for getting to know the car a bit before we go drive them. We’re looking at ..

BMW X3 PHEV
Audi Q5 PHEV
Mazda CX-5
RAV4 PHEV

Guess that’s it for now. I’m pushing for banking the money that some of these vehicles go for, particularly the top two, and waiting for a nice clean mid 90s 993 to pop up instead, but it’s not going well

Did the X3 and Q5 just add the PHEV drivetrain for MY2021? You'd be crazy to buy those cars brand-new. Although Tesla QC is hit or miss, the Model Y is easily a better overall decision than a brand-new X3 or Q5 IMHO. Depreciation on new German luxury cars is an absolute disaster.

 

[repoman0]

Did the X3 and Q5 just add the PHEV drivetrain for MY2021? You'd be crazy to buy those cars brand-new. Although Tesla QC is hit or miss, the Model Y is easily a better overall decision than a brand-new X3 or Q5 IMHO. Depreciation on new German luxury cars is an absolute disaster.

That’s why I want the 993. My other two German cars have appreciated since I bought them, lol. CPO PHEV X3 and Q5 look like not enough money off to justify over a new one IMO. Used car prices are high at the moment.

No interest in a Tesla

 

[Captante]

When ready to buy I've found this site to be the most useful:

Car Gurus

Be sure to use the search panel to the left.

And my advice would be Japanese.

 

[Ajay]

Consumer Reports - guess I'm old fashion.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I'll admit I've been out of the car scene for a while. Are the old magazines still publishing reviews?

Edmunds
Autoweek
The Car Connection
Autoblog
Motor Trend
Car and Driver

 

[pete6032]

Consumer Reports - guess I'm old fashion.

I get it free through my library. I used it for buying a dishwasher and also looked through the washer and dryer buying guide.

 

[manly]

That’s why I want the 993. My other two German cars have appreciated since I bought them, lol. CPO PHEV X3 and Q5 look like not enough money off to justify over a new one IMO. Used car prices are high at the moment.

No interest in a Tesla

Used car prices are still too high right now from what I've heard. Wholesale prices have been dropping for weeks, so eventually retail (dealerships) will have to adjust. I wasn't even aware the X3 and Q5 had PHEV until you mentioned it, and I couldn't find it for 2019? (Wasn't looking very hard.) That's why I asked if it's a recent addition.

CPO saves you 2 to 3 years of heavy depreciation, which is the only way I'd even consider it. There will still be a depreciation hit, but it's not the absolute disaster like in years 1 & 2 for a brand new $50k German car. And you're right about Porsche, they're also German but depreciate quite differently from Mercedes/BMW/Audi. If you don't care about fuel efficiency or pricing, a CPO Macan is a worthy consideration.

While you may have little interest in a Tesla, it has very good TCO compared to brand-new BMW & Audi. But we'll save that discussion for elsewhere, as I respect your position.

 

[repoman0]

Used car prices are still too high right now from what I've heard. Wholesale prices have been dropping for weeks, so eventually retail (dealerships) will have to adjust. I wasn't even aware the X3 and Q5 had PHEV until you mentioned it, and I couldn't find it for 2019? (Wasn't looking very hard.) That's why I asked if it's a recent addition.

CPO saves you 2 to 3 years of heavy depreciation, which is the only way I'd even consider it. There will still be a depreciation hit, but it's not the absolute disaster like in years 1 & 2 for a brand new $50k German car. And you're right about Porsche, they're also German but depreciate quite differently from Mercedes/BMW/Audi. If you don't care about fuel efficiency or pricing, a CPO Macan is a worthy consideration.

While you may have little interest in a Tesla, it has very good TCO compared to brand-new BMW & Audi. But we'll save that discussion for elsewhere, as I respect your position.

I believe PHEV for those two was a 2020 addition. There are very few lightly used ones available and the ones that are .. might as well spend a few grand more for a 2021 with 0 miles. I know the depreciation is brutal but buying for us is a longer term decision .. should be a 150-200k mile car, so anything will come out of it worth very little. The Volt lease isn’t up until April so there’s some time to see what used and CPO prices do. I did look at the Macan but she refuses to drive a Porsche, and I sort of agree with her. I’d feel like a dbag in anything but an old classic. Though the Macan is tempting and is actually pretty reasonably priced.

Similarly she doesn’t want to be the typical tech industry worker driving around in a Tesla and gets annoyed as all hell at their fanboy club. Also just so happens that EV is unsuitable for one of the intended uses of the vehicle .. ski and hiking trips in northern New England. Really don’t need the range anxiety in remote places with no chargers in the middle of winter, especially with range drop off in the cold.

 

[Wreckem]

You see a lot of those not so great cars because people don’t do research. The Ford and the Buick are okay. The others I wouldn’t buy.

 

[repoman0]

We ended up with a CX-5 with turbo 2.5L option FWIW. It compared really favorably to the BMW X3 and at that point we didn’t drive the Audi or Volvo. BMW really lost their way with their electric power steering. Totally numb, boring and dull compared to the fantastic hydraulic racks in my E39 and E46. The CX-5 was better by quite a bit. Downside is it renewed my lust for a new ND Miata.

No PHEV power train but that might be a good thing in the end. Rather have all gas or all electric. Twice the power train = twice the likelihood for failure.

Also, we drove the RAV4 Prime first and pretty much hated it. Also hated the salesperson and dealership. Only BMW and one of the two Mazda dealers we worked with didn’t treat us like we are financially retarded.