What Car? Magazine

VolvoMan

I know it's generally garbage as a publication, but I ocasionally give it a flick through whenever I see it on the shelf in the local newsagents.

I can't help noticing that they seem to be totally biased towards VW, and whenever there's a Golf or Passat in a grouptest it automatically receives first place. It seems bizarre that the likes of the Passat, which is essentially a six year old design, gets the victory over the Mondeo and Superb in this month's issue for instance. The Mondeo is bigger and far better to drive, wheras the Superb is bigger and better value in general.

I know it's a pretty uninteresting topic for a thread, but I'm just curious to find out if anyone else has noticed this?

Big Nasty

What about Octavia's!?! :eek::eek::eek:

Nissan doctor

All these tests of new cars are useless IMO. VW/audi etc just have to produce a car that feels solid when new, will get good reviews and will then sell itself from there on.

The first publication that regularly tests cars back to back when they are maybe 5 years old and can then compare the cars as normal, but also its running costs/maintenance costs, reliability since new, resistance to wear etc etc will be the first to really help motorists IMO.

andyseadog

i think it boils down to what free gifts the manufacturers give the road testers.

(this is a dangerous thing to say) but,

according to Clarkson, some manufacturers give great gifts (laptops, holidays etc) to road testers/ critics in order to get their car a better review.

try reading auto express... yawn at this stage, a good read, but to be taken with a pinch of salt i think.

Bodhan

Or you could try some indie web sites like thenextgear.com, completecar.ie or edrive.ie all irish...keep it country afterall

BrianD3

It's garbage alright and they do love VW but I thought it was Ford and Jaguar that they were most biased towards. Check out this fawning review of the Mondeo.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/ford/mondeo-hatchback/full-review/25713-5#OnTheRoad
"an absolute powerhouse of an engine"
The Mondeo is all things to all people: on the motorway, the car feels perfectly at ease; and the ride remains silky smooth"
"exceptionally agile"
"immaculately controlled"
"the switchgear operates with slick precision"

Contrast that review with that for the Volvo S80 where they don't have much good to say about a car that is built on the same platform as the Mondeo
they/www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/volvo/s80-saloon/full-review/25569-2#OnTheRoad

New model Saab 9-5 gets slaughtered and gets a poorer rating that the old 9-5 did
http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/saab/9-5-saloon/full-review/25877-2#OnTheRoad

RedorDead

VolvoMan wrote: »

I know it's generally garbage as a publication, but I ocasionally give it a flick through whenever I see it on the shelf in the local newsagents.

I can't help noticing that they seem to be totally biased towards VW, and whenever there's a Golf or Passat in a grouptest it automatically receives first place. It seems bizarre that the likes of the Passat, which is essentially a six year old design, gets the victory over the Mondeo and Superb in this month's issue for instance. The Mondeo is bigger and far better to drive, wheras the Superb is bigger and better value in general.

I know it's a pretty uninteresting topic for a thread, but I'm just curious to find out if anyone else has noticed this?

Surprising as most British mags tend to love anything British and slate anything else. Passat gets first as its newer and will sell more copies than Mondeo and Superb will.

On a side note - you appear to have intense issues with VAG cars. Bit unfair IMO.

VolvoMan

RedorDead wrote: »

Surprising as most British mags tend to love anything British and slate anything else. Passat gets first as its newer and will sell more copies than Mondeo and Superb will.

Nah, I don't think so. When the Ford Focus RS came out they did a group test with it against the Mk6 Golf GTi, a car that the media in general were underwhelmed with at the time. The VW walked away with class honours needless to say.

Maybe What Car? rate cars on the quality of dashboard plastic rather than anything else. They seem to have a strange obsession with the quality of plastic in interiors and make it seem like a big deal if it doesn't have a 'squidgy' feel.

On a side note - you appear to have intense issues with VAG cars. Bit unfair IMO.

It's 'cause they're bloody sh1te, that's why.

VAG can pull the wool over everyone else's eyes with silcone damped dashboards and trim pieces, but I'm not fooled.

zilog_jones

RedorDead wrote: »

Surprising as most British mags tend to love anything British and slate anything else.

But European Fords these days are no less German than any VAG car. Seriously, what was the last real British Ford? The Mk. I Escort? They haven't even built any cars in the UK since 2002.

VolvoMan

zilog_jones wrote: »

But European Fords these days are no less German than any VAG car. Seriously, what was the last real British Ford? The Mk. I Escort? They haven't even built any cars in the UK since 2002.

The same as Vauxhall really.

I have to laugh when I see Brits talking about Vauxhall as if it's their own homegrown car manufacturer. They are simply a trading name of General Motors in the UK, nothing more. I know the Astra may be built at Ellesmere Port but they are still about as British as a McDonald's located on the M4 motorway.

coylemj

andyseadog wrote: »

i think it boils down to what free gifts the manufacturers give the road testers.

(this is a dangerous thing to say) but,

according to Clarkson, some manufacturers give great gifts (laptops, holidays etc) to road testers/ critics in order to get their car a better review.

In fact it's so blatant that a lot of car journos are happy to admit that they have the best job in the world. They get brought to lovely Mediterranean resorts during the winter to car launches and on top of that the goodie bags are as good as you'll get anywhere.

The biggest gripe I have as a punter is that the journos are always given the top of the range models to test and they're always stuffed full of optional extras even they know full well that 90% of the sales will be for the entry-level model with almost none of the extras.

Once a car mag has a good circulation, they will get an invite to these launches regardless of whether they give the car a good recommendation or not so essentially there's no corruption involved, jealousy on the part of the rest of us for sure but that's it.

Nissan doctor

Sure isn't all this why Clarkson left the original top gear years ago, because he refused to say a car was good if it wasn't and he upset the manufacturers and all the other journalists at the time.

pajo1981

VolvoMan wrote: »

VAG can pull the wool over everyone else's eyes with silcone damped dashboards and trim pieces, but I'm not fooled.

The B6 passat I used to have was made, from the wood trim down (which was pretty high up), from the hardest of hard and creaky plastics.

But in fairness, the rest of the car did have a beautifully built feel to it.

J77

Bodhan wrote: »

Or you could try some indie web sites like thenextgear.com, completecar.ie or edrive.ie all irish...keep it country afterall

Nice plug of your own website there!:D

I'd always advise people to go and drive the car themselves and evaluate what's been said in reviews, rather than just going on what a review says. A review is always going to be at least a little biased.

Definitely agree with what's been said about new car reviews not meaning much for the car a few years down the road. I've heard it's common practise to modify press cars in the US, they'll throw on uprated suspension brakes etc. Don't know if that goes on in UK + IRL.

-Chris-

VolvoMan wrote: »

It's 'cause they're bloody sh1te, that's why.

VAG can pull the wool over everyone else's eyes with silcone damped dashboards and trim pieces, but I'm not fooled.

Jesus - change the record, would ya?