Consumer Reports Plug-in Review

Panel fitment is nothing new. Toyota fitment has pretty much been always better than Gms'

DBCassidy

 

radio

 

PM is more of a niche IMO, whereas I think CR has a wider audience so this article's issues can be more damaging.

contrary to the article, EV only mode exists and can be utilized in many real world driving conditions even accelerating from a stop. Of course, gunning it to get to hwy speed will trigger the gas engine, but isn't that important to get you to a safe speed ASAP?

 

Not true. They've long loved the Liftback, since it was Gen. 2 and are pretty high on the v, too. They don't love the C because of its small car compromises and they don't think the PiP is worth the extra money, though not a bad car.

 

[quote="bilofsky, post:
Nicer? I don't think so.


[/quote]
In terms of driving finesse, all tests I've seen give the C-Max the nod; its extra power and Focus-derived handling help make up for other shortcomings. Sadly, early C-Max quality appears to be shipshod and J.D. Power and Co. rates it worst among new offerings; a lot of that likely translates to the Energi model. Since Ford clearly has a problem out of the gate with new models, I'd for now ignore the car testers glowing praise of the C-Max's driving prowess and its interior design and go with the proven, if somewhat stolid, Prius PiP. Nicer to drive isn't enough.

 

what the heck, how did they get such low MPG numbers? I recently moved into a place with no plugin spots, and I drove a tank like a bat out of hell, flooring it up hills and such, and I STILL managed to hit 38MPG.

 

Beauty, in the eye of the beholder.

DBCassidy

 

Remember that CR also test blenders, cloths irons, " tha Clapper", microwave ovens, probably underwear and others....

 

Yes, CR is a publication for real-world people who will "just drive it," as opposed to early adopter geeks like us.

If plug-ins are ever going to be mass market cars, they will need to satisfy CR.

Perfect case in point. The typical member of the general public won't drive it like we do, with an eye on the HSI guiding our right foot. (And sometimes I wish I had gotten a Volt, so I could stop doing that and watch the traffic instead. )

IMO the great thing about the Prius is that a typical driver can't tell when it switches modes, turns the engine on or off, switches between regenerative and mechanical braking, etc.

Unfortunately, the CR reviewer was a bit clueless about that, and dinged the Prius for not having a pure EV mode when he should have praised it for being seamless. So although I support CU's viewpoint, I bemoan that the reviewer didn't hold fast to it. Like so many others, he was tempted into geekdom by our beloved PIP.

 

Agree fully. I had to make a roundtrip into Boston and on the 26miles return was all EV.
Some city streets, plenty of lights some I-90 at 70mph - still got low 50's.
On a drive to the airport I actually hit 60mpg (all EV) - didn't even think that possible !

I used to use and like Consumer Reports but this is the worst job on a review I've ever seen.
By comparison the PiP has some weakpoints but there are also big positives that were ignored here

 

consumer reports is great when you're looking to buy something and are clueless as to which is best. but when you have knowledge, you realize they are clueless. if i buy the best lawn mower according to them, do i really know that the others are not as good? all i know is the experience i have with the one i bought. and i bet most people who have trouble with what they bought don't complain or even think about the fact that cr said it was the best. all it serves to do is keep people away from products that may or may not be good.

 

Sometimes that is the case. The Sony RX100 camera has been acknowledged as a breakthrough in high-end pocketable cameras. Yet CR didn't understand what was special about it, or else their rating system wasn't set up to evaluate that. So it was rated lowest in its class.

If someone were clueless about cameras, they wouldn't want an RX100, so it might make sense for CR to rate it that way.

That said, if the PIP is going to appeal to a wider market, it needs a longer range and a lower price, which is essentially what CR said. If they messed up the mileage test, and didn't appreciate our PIPs' wonderful qualities, that doesn't change the accuracy of their conclusion.

 

but you could say that about any of the alternate fuel cars on the market. you don't need to even sit in them to know why they aren't disappearing off the lots.

 

CR is also the company that fabricated "Antenna-Gate" when the iPhone 4 came out, and then complained that the iPad 3rd generation ran warmer than the iPad 2. All of this was intended to generate more hits on their website. IMO they are no better than most of the lamestream media. I canceled my membership.