Just lost all my respect for Car and Driver

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by bedrock8x

...C&D changed the emphasis to luxury sport cars and luxury SUVs, (same with Motor Trend and others) they no longer do comparison test of family cars and no less econo boxes. I can understand why they cater to the rich folks who can afford the price of the magazine.

So why didn't they use the 2010 Prius V with 17" rims when they did the comparison with the Insight? Why even review a econohybrid (Insight)?

I think C&D should acknowledge and respect the new trend of (hybrid) enthusiasts. Performance is no longer about only the acceleration time, cornering Gs or braking distance.

[equake]

I just read the comparison and it is a joke having driven the Insight. The vehicle stuff is very subjective but the powertrain rating the Transmission a 5 for the Prius is gotta be funny. Both the Insight and Prius have eCVTs and except for the paddle shifters on the Insight which are gimmicky there is not much difference.

The chassis ratings are also very subjective. THe brake feel I thought again was a joke. With discs all around I think fade would be a gauge but the driver instead chose to rate it on regenerative braking.

The Insight will be a more fun to drive car no doubt having driven Hondas and Acuras but the rag review is a bit biased.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by equake

Both the Insight and Prius have eCVTs and except for the paddle shifters on the Insight which are gimmicky there is not much difference.

The Insight has mCVT (mechanical) and Prius has eCVT (electric). eCVT is superior because the thrust output does not depend on the the ICE's RPM.

Originally Posted by equake

THe brake feel I thought again was a joke. With discs all around I think fade would be a gauge but the driver instead chose to rate it on regenerative braking.

I don't know why they ignored the fact that Prius' electric brake can regenerate 4x more energy than the Insight before the frictional pads kick in. Electric brake respond instantly without the initial hydraulic delay. In that technical sense, Prius' brakes are superior.

[donalmilligan089]

Originally Posted by accordingly

Enthusiast appeal refers to how fun the vehicle is to drive. Not how many miles it goes per gallon, not how infrequently it breaks down, and not how technologically advanced it is. And certainly not how much Prius owners like their Prius.

They are absolutely correct, the Prius is not a car anyone who enjoys cars would recommend for autocrossing or taking on twisty roads in the mountains. It has horrible steering feel and not very much power. It rides more like a couch than a car. This is what all Toyotas, not just the Prius, are designed to drive like. They are made for people who want to go from point A to point B without caring about how many Gs they can pull in the corners or how crisp the handling feels.

That's why Car and Driver always puts the Hondas on its best cars lists and never the Toyotas- they are simply not designed to be fun to drive physically. Enthusiast appeal does not have anything to do with how fun it is to brag about your mileage or technology, it has to do with how the car feels on the road. A car enthusiast dreams of driving a 650Hp McLaren F1 with no power steering on a track as hard and as fast as they can drive, not pressing buttons and looking at cartoon screens while floating down the road on the way to run errands. That's fun to do too, but it's not what I'd call "enthusiast driving".

I wholly disagree. I drove a Linc. Towncar for years in this hilly twisty turny cycle type terain. The linc. leaaned so heavily on the curves as to be scary. I now take all these curves with out braking unless one of these so called pleasure dudes get in my way riding their brakes. My daughter borrowed the prius and said: Boyt! that was fun but I would probly get a speeding ticket.

[a64pilot]

The car Mags are driven entirely by advertising. Usually immedately following the glowing review of the new BMW, there will be several full page BMW ads. Pretty obvious