Why 'Consumer Reports' says these 6 cars are trouble

 

From the article -

• Fiat 500L: The boxy Italian design has a balky infotainment system, using a version of Chrysler Group's UConnect, and transmission issues.

• Ford Fiesta: Owners responding to Consumer Reports' survey didn't like its automatic transmission.

• Mercedes Benz CLA: A raft of problems, including squeaks and rattles; engine issues, bad audio and electrical problems.

• Jeep Cherokee, with the four-cylinder engine: The nine-speed transmission was an issue and the four-cylinder version had twice as many complaints as the V-6.

• Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the diesel engine: Owners reported that the new engine gave them fits when it came to the fuel system.

• Nissan Pathfinder: The new one has a new CVT and owners didn't like it.

At least one of those was one that we considered before the RDX. Thank goodness our test drive was less than impressive.

 

Not surprised about any of these...

 

They forgot the CLA is also a bit on the ugly side.

Surprised the Altima isn't on there. Rented one to drive to Florida and it made me realize what a surprisingly better car my wife's Cobalt is.

 

It seems all the Fialt Chrysler vehicles are having transmission issues. Fiat failed some safety tests because they needed to adjust the airbags on the driver's side. It was a situation where if you were not wearing a seatbelt and had a 35+ mph crash you would get hurt. I am surprised the UConnect in Fiat had a bad review since I heard UConnect is one of the best infotainment systems out there. Give Fiat Chrysler a year and these issues will be fixed.

The CLA is surprising since it is a Mercedes. I can understand these issues in a $15k car but not a $30k car from a luxury brand.

 

I don't think it's too surprising considering it's a brand-new model line from a company used to getting $50k+ for most of their cars. Mercedes doesn't do budget cars, and there are most likely a lot of corners that needed to be cut quality-wise in order to get a Mercedes down to even $30k.

To be fair, it could also be a function of the buyers' mentality as well. If they're expecting S-class levels of refinement simply "because it's a Mercedes" and hear a rattle or two, they're going to scream a lot louder than somebody having the same issue in an Accord even when the higher spec Accords cost more a base CLA.

Even so, I seriously doubt many CLAs are sold for less than high-$30s knowing how the Germans like to make absolutely every little feature part of an outrageously priced optional package, yet people are still having these issues. I loaded up a CLA on the MBUSA website and it was almost $50k, and that was before tax and dealer fees. It's hard not to have unrealistic expectations of your pig when the dealer charges almost as much for the lipstick.