I’m doing car research and am curious where to look for car reviews. How would you compare JD Power vs Consumer Reports? Thoughts on Edmunds?
I know about Motor Trend and Car and Driver, but those seem more focused on performance.
I’m looking for a family vehicle and mostly care about cost, safety and utility. It doesn’t have to have 500 horsepower. Design is pretty important though.
Well, I believe Consumer Reports charges for car reviews. I would just look around online and ask friends for opinions.
I looked through every review I could before eventually getting my Honda CR-V. Including the ones that Motor Trend did. I actually like the enthusiast magazine reviews, because they have a lot of opinions on things like design and quality.
I would recommend trying to buy the previous year’s model. We’re getting close to car companies doing their 2020 release. When that happens you’ll be able to get the 2019 models for $2,000 to $5,000 off.
I think this advice is spot on. A car is an expensive purchase—I would read as many opinions as you can. Even if you don’t care about suspension and handling.
If you’re trying to determine how to get the best value vehicle, it may be worth researching or asking a question on Bogleheads. I frequently see car threads pop up there.
If you are looking for practical sedans, I’m very impressed with the 2018 and 2019 Honda Accord. For under $30,000 it seems like a great option.
The first time I saw one in the deck, the profile made me think that it was a CLS or one of the coupe-esque sedans that Mercedes makes.
I’m also a big fan of the interior. They layout is simple, but interesting. In particular I like the positioning of the screen that peeks out the top of the dash.
It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which means you don’t have to rely on the terrible infotainment software that comes in most cars.
There’s another thing that I love about the infotainment system—it uses mostly physical buttons.
Touch screens are great, but they are absolutely dreadful in cars. Buttons to key functions should not move or vanish behind layers of other menus. I’m glad at least one automaker has some sense.
That’s a fair point. Appreciate the comment!
I’ll check out bogleheads. We have a dog and are looking for something that is more of a crossover/small SUV. I think I’ve mostly narrowed it down to a 2019 Honda CRV or Toyota Rav 4.
Planning to wait for the 2020 models to come out first though.
