Consumer Reports Car Reliability Ratings

[Exit]

Actually my 2002 Echo is the first car I bought that had variable valve timiing and it was the cheapest car in the Toyota lineup. It is pretty quick too. The 2009 Corolla and my 67 MGB GT both weighed in at about 2700 lbs curb weight. The Mazda weighs 100 lbs more.

So how do new Mustangs stack up against old Mustangs? Do they have more horsepower and torque or less. Have they been keeping up with engine technology?

 

[yettitheman]

CR I think is full of crap. Good Housekeeping seal of approval ring a bell to anyone?

Anyone that gets a Good Housekeeping seal is just like THX certification; pay the man and you get a sticker!

Someone paid CR to get their sticker

Case in point; 2001 Impala (reviewed rather low by CR)
Only thing other than regular maintainence, I've had to change the front wheel bearings. That's it. It's a largish-sedan, seats 4 rather comfy, huge trunk, and has a V6 that gets 35mpg in our driving. It's really hard to argue with that.

Then again, I have a Neon nearing 200k MI and it's holding up better than a '99 Silverado (at least my car isn't rusting like the truck is )

 

[Exit]

CR basically uses their readership to answer surveys of their experiences on cars they own. It then tallies up the surveys and derives statistics on each model. They express the probabilities of having a problem in several categories for each car model using the circle graphics because it is simpler and faster to understand than using statistical expressions. There is no guarantee in any of the statistics. By using the reliability circle charts you can choose to put the odds of having no or few failures in your favor. My experience over 30 years leads me to believe CR’s ratings. If you want to refute their statistics, then buy a car with all black circles and see if you end up problem free.

 

[Hi Ho]

We have only had the Mazda since mid-August so I haven’t collected enough data yet to get really accurate estimates, but the Mazda 3 is rated 23 MPG city and 31 MPG highway depending on which source you get the numbers from.

I also have a Mazda 3i Touring and there is a little trick to enable the trip computer which shows you your MPG and other interesting info.

http://forums.mazdaworld.org/index.php?showtopic=30054

I have tested the trip computer MPG against my own calculations and it seems to be very accurate. I average 34-36 MPG mixed, mostly highway.