New Toyota Camry Excels in Consumer Reports’ Tests, VW Passat Not So Much
01-01-12, 01:41 PM
#31
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Huh? The TDI isn't "EPA rated" at 26/51 and the Camry Hybrid isn't "EPA rated" at 32/43. You must mean CR's own road tests.
01-01-12, 01:47 PM
#32
Lexus Champion
01-01-12, 01:51 PM
#33
Lexus Test Driver
The Passat TDI is officially rated from the EPA at 30 city/40 highway. These are the numbers most people will likely experience and should go by in predicting their mileage.
01-01-12, 02:07 PM
#34
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The 26/51 are the EPA numbers, but they are the ones buried in the fine print at the bottom of the window sticker. The tag line would read, "Under bad driving conditions, you may receive as low as 26 mpg's in the city. In optimum, ideal conditions, you may receive 51 mpg's on the highway." As I mentioned, these numbers are rare because they fall under unique conditions which most people will not experience. That's why it's so retarded for CR to use them as their final numbers they publish in their tests. This does a disservice to the public and causes mass confusion, as seen here in this thread.
The Passat TDI is officially rated from the EPA at 30 city/40 highway. These are the numbers most people will likely experience and should go by in predicting their mileage.
The Passat TDI is officially rated from the EPA at 30 city/40 highway. These are the numbers most people will likely experience and should go by in predicting their mileage.
01-01-12, 03:24 PM
#35
Lexus Fanatic
And then you have cases like with the Honda Passport SUV of the 90s, which was actually a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo. Its worse-than-average repair record did some damage to Honda's previously stellar reliability image.
01-01-12, 03:39 PM
#36
Lexus Fanatic
thank you my friend! CR's "ratings" based on consumers' feedback are useful, although the sample set is obviously tiny for MANY models (how many rolls royce owners read CR and get polled?
). but making recommendations for new models based on old, mechanically, electronically, physically vastly different vehicles is ludicrous.
because CR isn't objective on some things. can't blame them for having a soft spot for toyota, which has made the best overall quality vehicles for over a decade. to quote a politician: they're entitled to their own opinions, but they're not entitled to their own facts. 
I'm not going to defend Honda in all categories, though. We both know the recent shortcomings in controversial styling and cost-cutting that some of their latest products exibit. But they still seem to rank at the top for reliability.
Last edited by mmarshall; 01-01-12 at 03:42 PM.
01-01-12, 07:57 PM
#37
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
new camry is no doubt a good car! cr and new car owners liking it - perfectly reasonable!
recommending it since prior gen one was reliable still makes no sense.
01-01-12, 08:06 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
no they did not... there is no other way to give reliability recommendations for new cars.
they said they will stop giving recommendations automatically for all of the same brand models, but rather focus on car itself... meaning old Camry V6 got more complaints, hence new one is not automatically recommended.
there is no other way, and actually CR has really good history with recommendations.
I think CR has very very good way of rating cars overall, that really does apply to general public a lot more than other magazines like Motortrend and Car and Driver.
However that doesnt mean that we should all drive same cars and that all of us should have same priorities when buying cars.
As to the sound comment, it was overstressed in the carscoop article, actual CR article (i watched video), said slightly worse interior noise.
they said they will stop giving recommendations automatically for all of the same brand models, but rather focus on car itself... meaning old Camry V6 got more complaints, hence new one is not automatically recommended.
there is no other way, and actually CR has really good history with recommendations.
I think CR has very very good way of rating cars overall, that really does apply to general public a lot more than other magazines like Motortrend and Car and Driver.
However that doesnt mean that we should all drive same cars and that all of us should have same priorities when buying cars.
As to the sound comment, it was overstressed in the carscoop article, actual CR article (i watched video), said slightly worse interior noise.
There is not much wrong with the new Camry, in my honest opinion, the new Camry is nicer, more interesting and a better interior design than the boring ES. Toyota finally has made another outstanding Camry unlike the last generation junk.
01-01-12, 08:10 PM
#39
Lexus Fanatic
As for CR. I don't take much of what they say all the seriously.
It seems CR has recoginized that the new Camry is really good and CR is trying to feed off of it by saying they will use last ears data.
It seems CR has recoginized that the new Camry is really good and CR is trying to feed off of it by saying they will use last ears data.
01-02-12, 07:02 AM
#40
Lexus Champion
CR's top rated Family Sedans in order are Camry Hybrid, Altima SR V6, Camry XLE V6, Accord EX-L V6 and Sonata 2.0T
Entry level Family Sedans in order (mainly 4 cyl in lower trim levels) are Altima S 4cyl, Sonata GLS 4cyl, Camry LE 4 cyl, Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium and Suzuki Kizashi.
Entry level Family Sedans in order (mainly 4 cyl in lower trim levels) are Altima S 4cyl, Sonata GLS 4cyl, Camry LE 4 cyl, Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium and Suzuki Kizashi.
01-02-12, 12:46 PM
#41
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
CR's top rated Family Sedans in order are Camry Hybrid, Altima SR V6, Camry XLE V6, Accord EX-L V6 and Sonata 2.0T
Entry level Family Sedans in order (mainly 4 cyl in lower trim levels) are Altima S 4cyl, Sonata GLS 4cyl, Camry LE 4 cyl, Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium and Suzuki Kizashi.
Entry level Family Sedans in order (mainly 4 cyl in lower trim levels) are Altima S 4cyl, Sonata GLS 4cyl, Camry LE 4 cyl, Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium and Suzuki Kizashi.
01-02-12, 01:38 PM
#42
Lexus Fanatic
Yeah I agree. There is nothing family about the Camry. I guess they call it family sedan because it appeals to the average family income etc etc.
01-02-12, 05:49 PM
#43
Lexus Champion
Not every family has more than 1 or 2 kids. They don't need minivans and don't want SUV's. The SUV craze fell off when gas got too expensive. Midsize 'family' sedans are just right for a lot of people.
01-03-12, 05:45 AM
#44
The last two Camry I owned were a '07 XLE and '11 loaded Hybrid.The '11 was a great car with no rattles or creaks but was rear ended with $8K damage Dec '10 and never the same so I dumped it. I then decided to go with something quicker and sportier for awhile and bought a 'new' leftover IS350 with 95 miles and got what I feel was a very good deal on the car and trade in.The IS350 is a quick fun car.Eventually I'll get back to a smooth riding quiet car but for now I'm having fun with the IS.
Anyway,when I read that the Camry now has a less smoother ride and noisier interior than the Gen 6.I won't buy one because that's the only reasons I bought the Gen 6 Camry over other vehicles in it's class.Also don't the taillights and fog light trim on the XLE and hybrid but that will change in the next year or two.
Anyway,when I read that the Camry now has a less smoother ride and noisier interior than the Gen 6.I won't buy one because that's the only reasons I bought the Gen 6 Camry over other vehicles in it's class.Also don't the taillights and fog light trim on the XLE and hybrid but that will change in the next year or two.
01-03-12, 07:26 AM
#45
it is just as when JD Powers release dependability data - it is based on 3 year old cars. Not cars in the showroom today.
But as you know, those things really dont change that much. Sure, people how that suddenly their unreliable german manufacturer fixed all of their issues in 2012 MY, but as history shows us, it doesnt happen... If 2.0 TDI has issues in previous Passat and current Jetta, most likely it wont miraculously jump ahead of the pack in 2012.