[Stewie007]

Its consumer reports, enough said.
For example, they like GE products.

Lets see. My folks remodeled their kitchen and they bought all GE Appliances. This was about 2 years ago. Within one year, the Range's main computer went kaput. Several months later the microwave died. Now the Refrigerator is acting up.

So clearly CR is a logical step in my product research........ oh wait......... its not.

Edit: And typically as I see in consumer reports..... they are virtually having sex with Asian cars.... They just don't like anything else at all. They're clearly biased. Who knows what they did while "testing" each car. Would you believe the guy who touts any other product so ridiculously skewed in one direction? I wouldn't.

 

[Mr. Burns]

Any compact comparison that lists the Corolla in the top 3 can't be taken seriously.

Forget the Corolla, why the heck is the Sentra #2?

 

[motorman]

the Cruze is a nice car BUT it is 3 model years old world wide so that means it was designed at least 5 years ago and that is a lifetime in the car world.

 

[steve333]

Any credibility that CR ever had (and I never thought it had any) is completely thrown out the door with a review that places the Corolla and Sentra anywhere near the top.
I've said it before and I'll say it again-
I would use CR for toilet paper but I don't want to insult my ass

 

[1487]

....And the "lackluster" Cobalt sold 28,000+ a month before the Cruze.

Face it, with gas prices hovering around 4 bucks a gallon -- anything cheap with a four cylinder will sell. Dodge sold 6,500 Avengers last month -- so are they are "great cars" now, too?

The Cruze is an "Also Ran." Some people on this board think there is this giant conspiracy that all the magazines and journalists have agreed to. But it's not that complicated: The Cruze debuted a few months ago in the USA -- and there are already better cars available on the market.

I've read the C&D article -- it's accurate. The Consumer Reports comparo: I really don't agree with, but I expected similar results. With GM's track record for small car flops (lots of baggage), they needed to sweat the details this time around.... and once again, they didn't. I think the Cobalt was more compelling against its rivals when it debuted than the Cruze. It is what it is.

LOL, I love when people speak with certainty but offer no details. You say everyone needs to accept the Cruze is an also ran but offer NO proof of such. How are you measuring that? Quietness, interior quality, mileage, safety features? Almost every source agrees the Cruze has potentially class leading interior, quiet ride, good ride quality, great safety features, above average space and cargo room and competitive mileage. Where exactly is it falling short? It has less hp than average but per C&D its faster than several other cars with more power. Its handling is up there with the 3 and Focus and its ride is second to none. Styling? That' subjective but I think it looks better than focus sedan, 3, Corolla, Civic, etc. Only the Elantra really looks better to me- and there are some questionable details on that car. I do agree there are better cars on paper, but when the cars are tested and we see how they all peform the cruze looks much better. It outperforms the 2800lb Elantra and ties the focus in everything except 0-60 while offering more space than the Focus. And contrary to what C&D said I do not find the Focus' interior to be better than whats in the Cruze. I think the focus interior is too monochromatic and dull.

 

[Stewie007]

Forget the Corolla, why the heck is the Sentra #2?

LOL!!!

Neither the Corolla or Sentra could be called fun to drive.... They're just there because everybody loves them. Hence the CR bias. They ask people what they think about their cars, then they do research.

Pretty stupid way to go about it. People lie about their cars, or at least omit things with which they are unhappy. Like "I pulled out in front of someone in my Corolla and it had plenty of power to get me going without trouble."

When really.... it was more like "I cut this guy off in my Corolla thinking I had plenty of power, but he nearly hit me because I didn't and had to swerve violently into the other lane which spooked another driver who drove into the guard rail, flipped his car and ended up getting his head whopped off becau......................" Okay, getting a little gruesome.....................

Seriously, its CR. No objectivity. They will always make love to cars from one region, and dump excrement on others simply because they don't really know what they are talking about.

 

[1487]

the Cruze is a nice car BUT it is 3 model years old world wide so that means it was designed at least 5 years ago and that is a lifetime in the car world.

This is a common statement. Please explain where the 2 year lag has hurt the Cruze relative to the competition. It is very common for European cars to debut months or even a year after they do in Europe. I'd like to remind you that many predicted the Camaro would be a dud because we waited "too long" for it to debut. Also, the regal was 2 years old when it debuted and yet its sold well.

 

[JBsZ06]

no offense intended to consumer reports but their testing leaves a lot to be desired..

I rolled on the floor laughing as I found out that when testing toasters ...consumer reports stuffs the toasters with towels and if toaster catches on fire...it fails the ":toaster test"

With testing procedures like this....Consumer reports data or results have questionable legitmacy issues..

Just my opinion....but they used to love toyotas too!

 

[krusshall]

@KenJr - it seems that your complaints are mostly about the language. Unfortunately, language is much more difficult to standardize than measurements. However, you do have to be using the same measuring "stick" in order to make valid comparisons, which is one of the great benefits of CR's car testing. The rear-seat figures you quote aren't CR's which give the Elantra 28.5" vs. the Cruze's 26". Your "sitting just fine" in the rear seat of your Cruze; is that with a 5'4" driver in the front seat, or with the standardized 40" of leg length that CR uses?

CR does put extra weight on safety, as you noted, but then there's that problem with language again ... I suppose someone might call it exciting to have a vehicle that loses traction a couple of miles/hour sooner and takes a few feet longer to stop than the Elantra. ;-) Also, the video is specific to the Cruze they tested, and not so much to your Eco model, which might even have thinner seats as a weight savings (the tested Cruze is almost as heavy as a Subaru Forester).

CR's testing is what it is, almost entirely a numbers game, with the category weights assigned to satisfy a broad spectrum of consumers, with safety a big emphasis.

Is this the editor's response to the reader's comment? Show us the scoring methodology and what "category weights assigned to satisfy a broad spectrum of consumers" means.

 

[jaybo]

Who gives a rats ass what that Crap house rag CR thinks.

Consumers.

 

[krusshall]

the Cruze is a nice car BUT it is 3 model years old world wide so that means it was designed at least 5 years ago and that is a lifetime in the car world.

How is that relevant? How old is the Sentra, the Corolla, the Impreza?

 

[MMBUFFNY]

CR always did suck. They have been bashing GM and anything American for as long as I can remember. Who actually reads their magazine anyway?

 

[Chassis Guy]

Another biased report from the prime source of biased reports. Yawn.

Having owned a Subaru 2.5i, I know that the BEST economy to expect overall is about 26 MPG with a stick shift and some careful driving. I know of no one with a Cruze that gets under 33 mpg, and most have auto trans and are not "trying" to get high mpg. So if they claim Subaru is in the same class for fuel economy, I call BS on that. (a 27% improvement is not "comparable")

And I fully agree that anyone who finds a Sentra or Corolla sporty or fun is obviously not paying attention. The new Hyundai is a pretty nice car, but it is LOUD, and not "class-leading" in any obvious sense here. As CR likes to say, "there are better choices available"...

 

[AMcA]

Hyundai is the new Toyota. They can do no wrong. And legions of very rational people who know they are much more intelligent and scientific than all you aother slobs are going to buy Hyundais to confirm for themselve how smart they are.

Ick.

 

[BIG KROK V8 SS]

Consumer Reports has always been the worst guide for anything legitimate, especially cars. CR always ranking toyota vehicles highly is a perfect reason.

 

[cmutt]

Any compact comparison that lists the Corolla in the top 3 can't be taken seriously.

+10

I couldn't agree more. The car is reliable - and that's about all you can say about it. Others, Cruze included, blow the doors off the Toyota-badged-Cavalier in terms of ride, quality of materials, gas mileage, and power. The Corolla is a reliable tin-can, and basic as basic can be. The car is rental grade-- the interior looks like it was designed so you could hose-it-out. It still has an ancient four-speed transmission (remember when GM was broadly criticized for that FOUR years ago? Yet this relic somehow manages to rank 3rd).

 

[goatgary]

Anyone notice how low the Jetta has sunk? Last in both CR and C&D testing.

 

[M. Bastian]

As a former ’08 Sentra SL owner, I can't even begin to tell you how ridiculous this is. That tire eating, rattle box never came close to achieving the 33 MPG (it was before the +FE feature) on a flat high highway road with the cruise control set. This list is ludicrous.

 

[uvikrama]

Where is Civic ?

The + of hyndai seems low weight, real world fuel economy, Rear seat space.

Cruze is a good car. May be these small steps may make it good or CR need to learn more and improve rating and include more params like "safety" , "Noise isolation" etc

If a CR no 1 rated car goes to an unexpected accident and you die because it was not enough safe, CR wont loose anything , Only your family and you loose

 

[eaton53]

Getting worn out over the weight thing.

When it's German they call it "vaultlike" and "refined". When it's a Chevy they call it "overweight".