Consumer Reports Picks up CT200h

Consumer Reports is not anti-Lexus!

dgstan said:

CT seems to be rather anti-Toyota, so I don't expect any glowing reviews.

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Whoaaaaaa...nothing could be further from the truth! I subscribe to Consumer Reports and read tons of their reviews on various cars. They are VERY pro-Toyota and particularly pro-Lexus! You'll find nary a criticism of most Lexus vehicles.

Their #1 small SUV pick this year: Toyota's RAV4.

They report on reliability; this is supposedly fact-based and not subjective. For several years in a row, the top three reliable manufacturers are Honda (incl. Acura), Subaru, and Toyota (incl. Lexus).

CR "recommends" certain vehicles. It "recommends" almost every Lexus vehicle, if not all of them. Same goes with Honda and Subaru.

They buy cars to test them, and they keep them and drive them for 6 mos. to come up with their subjective review of a vehicle. That's far longer than anyone else drives a car for testing. I find their reviews very thorough and fair, for the most part.

I disagree with some of their findings sometimes, though. They rate, for instance, the climate control of certain Hondas as average, the same as certain Toyotas. However, I've owned a Honda before, and I've tested out the a/c of the CRV...and I can tell you that Honda has a pitiful a/c system. Every other a/c I've ever been exposed to has been better than any Honda's a/c I've experienced. If you don't live in a hot area, though, you wouldn't notice that.

I can't wait to see what their review of the CT200h will be. It'll be months from now, but should be interesting.

KKM said:

Here's their update, not as positive:

From the logbook: 2011 Lexus CT 200h

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I have been a subscriber to Consumer Reports for many years and have purchased numerous cars over the past several decades. To me, the most valuable feature in CR's annual automotive issue is the Frequency of Repair graphs that appear in the back of the magazine as they are tabulated based on owners who respond to the annual questionnaire sent to subscribers. I wish I had a nickel for every hour I have spent filling out the lengthy forms over the years. (Fortunately, this can now be done on the Internet.)

As for CR's opinion about a car they purchase and test, I always take what is said with a grain of salt since most of what is pointed out in a review is subjective. An opinion that "the radio knob is a long reach" often means nothing to me. Just as I don't count on a single newspaper or newscast to give me a complete and balanced report of what is happening in the world, I don't depend solely on CR to give me the info on a car I may decide to purchase. I rely instead on a balance of other automotive sources such as Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Edmunds.com and others to gain a feel for a particular car I may be interested in before I even take the time to look at one in a dealer's showroom.

Having said that, I broke my own longstanding rule with the CT. While my ES was being serviced at my Lexus dealership I was talking with the salesman who sold me the car a year earlier. When I pointed to what I thought was a great looking little hatchback that was parked in front of the showroom and asked what it was, he said it was the new CT200h, and that it was the last of a shipment of five his dealership had received a week earlier. I looked the car over bumper-to-bumper, took it for a half-hour test drive, then brought it back and bought it on the spot. (My bad!)

I have now had the car for almost two months and can, in a warped way, relate to Charlie Sheen raising his arms in the air and proclaiming "Winner!"

Bottom line: I strongly disagree and/or couldn't care less with several of the opinions expressed in the CR logbook update. Consumer Reports is only one good source for automotive reviews, but it is far from a be-all-end-all when it comes to deciding what car to purchase. And in my opinion, a buyer who relies solely on the magazine to make a choice of what to drive home and put in the garage isn't doing him- or herself any favors.