Just got my January 2004 CR and at the bottom of the contents page is their list of upcoming tests. Coming soon .... "Upscale sedans Acura TL, Kia Amanti, Lexus ES330, and Saab 9-5."

I know some people on this forum don't think real highly of CR but I believe them to be unbiased, even if sometimes not car "enthusiast" minded. I will be looking forward to this COMPARISON test, hopefully in the next issue! I give credit to all who bought based on their own experience with a demo car and their trust in Acura. I, myself, like to see what the testers say. Hopefully won't be long now.

 

I think very highly of them. I just take into consideration that they are consumer oriented and not necessarily sport oriented. For example their favorite sports car is the s2000 but they clearly state that it is not a very satisfying daily driver( too small, stiff and jiggly). If you take a poll among s2000 owners probably 80% would agree with that statement.

 

Oops I forgot, I predict the TL will win that comparison, given the fact that the KIA sucks, the lexus is less exiting than a qualude and the 9-5 has the ussual saab exentricities. My bet:
1- TL
2- Lexus
3- Saab
4-(by a large margin) KIA
BTW, the inclusion of the KIA is a little insulting since it essentially at least 8 years(2 car models) behind in engineering.

 

I rely on Consumer Reports for automobile reviews and use all the others as secondary sources. I agree that they aren't enthusiasts and are more practical/consumer oriented. Very surprising to me that they picked the BMW 530i to be the best sports/luxury car earlier this year. I believe them to be the only major unbiased source for the simple fact that they accept no advertising.

We have to ask ourselves a question: If a car manufacturer has a $50k ad running and a review of that particular car is in that same issue wouldn't there be at least some bias?

I think the TL is going to win the competition easily. They love reliability - Acura just last month was rated THE most reliable brand- safety (6 air bags in the car?) and good gas mileage.

 

Instead of the Kia junk, the G35 or I35 should have been there.

 

Agreed. The Kia isn't even in the same class. Also, it would have been nice if they included the 325 and Volvo S60. I guess we'll have to wait for the real enthusiasts magazines to do a real "heads-up" comparison. BTW, the last 2 times I bought products recommended by CU, they turned out to be junk! FWIW

 

I think the Lexus will win as it is more in line with CR's readers, smooth and un-inspired, the TL is too stiff and flashy for them, but perfect for me!

 

CR's review is almost always bland but fair.

 

I am going to vote for the TL as it is a numbers thing with CR. If the car stops in the 115 ft range as opposed to 147 and the lane change etc numbers are better then the TL wins. It will accelerate faster and have better gas mileage.

Now we wait and see...

 

Consumer Reports is great when looking for comfort and reliabilty.
Sportiness is only a factor if it helps saftey: braking and emergency handling.

Only problem I have with them is they will recommend a car despite a poor interior, pillow handling and/or poor peformance as long as it is reliable. It is a piece of junk but a reliable piece of junk, it gets a recommendation?

I will look foward to seeing the report.

Either way I pick up my Blk/Blk NAVI tomorrow.

P.S. I am well prepared from my lurking with a list of items to look for. I just hope to see the car with a different set of tires from those causing everyone else grief.

 

One of the testers stated for the record that they (the testers of the TL) were "very very very impressed". That is a lot of praise coming from CR.