The truth about automotive reviews,...

[niky]

If reviewers here in the Philippines review cars like Team BHP does, car manufacturers here would stop lending them cars to review.

Official New Car Reviews - Team-BHP

They still make one of the best and most thorough reviews imo. Makes reviews by local publications like TGP look laughably amateurish by comparison. Just read their latest review, which is the Hyundai Creta/ix25. It's in-depth, insightful and thorough. Hyundai Creta : Official Review - Team-BHP. They don't just review for the sake of throwing a few comments here and there. They make an effort to make objective criticism instead of making generally vague, generic comments that don't really tell much about the car against the competition. It's like reviewers here make extra effort not to draw comparisons against a potent competitor, lest they never hear from the manufacturer again. If they do make comparisons, they rarely mention the direct model of the competitor. If it's a head-to-head comparison, they're extra careful not to lay down the hammer too hard even if the differences are glaring.

Team BHP rocks.

Sadly, the website and magazine format for TGP doesn't allow us to make reviews that detailed. Hell... intro palang, lampas sa word limit ng website. That's the sad part about working for a publication that has a style guide. Back in the old days, I could make articles as long as I liked.

[niky]

If reviewers here in the Philippines review cars like Team BHP does, car manufacturers here would stop lending them cars to review.

Official New Car Reviews - Team-BHP

They still make one of the best and most thorough reviews imo. Makes reviews by local publications like TGP look laughably amateurish by comparison. Just read their latest review, which is the Hyundai Creta/ix25. It's in-depth, insightful and thorough. Hyundai Creta : Official Review - Team-BHP. They don't just review for the sake of throwing a few comments here and there. They make an effort to make objective criticism instead of making generally vague, generic comments that don't really tell much about the car against the competition. It's like reviewers here make extra effort not to draw comparisons against a potent competitor, lest they never hear from the manufacturer again. If they do make comparisons, they rarely mention the direct model of the competitor. If it's a head-to-head comparison, they're extra careful not to lay down the hammer too hard even if the differences are glaring.

Team BHP rocks.

Sadly, the website and magazine format for TGP doesn't allow us to make reviews that detailed. Hell... intro palang, lampas sa word limit ng website. That's the sad part about working for a publication that has a style guide. Back in the old days, I could make articles as long as I liked.

[habibi_boi]

wanted to start a new thread about CVT transmission but the site requires me to prove myself i'm not a bot.. well here's my first.. nice article..

[Gumusut_Amige]

wanted to start a new thread about CVT transmission but the site requires me to prove myself i'm not a bot.. well here's my first.. nice article..

Meron ng thread tungkol dito. Just use the search function.

[coydeleon]

I wish there was a review site that reviewed from the angle of an everyday motorist. Sure nandun pa din yung mga technical specs, performance, quality etc., pero sana meron din yung isasama nila kung kamusta ang pag maintain outside ng casa, availability ng parts (whether OEM or aftermarket), and average reselling value. It's great that reviews help us decide on what to buy, pero maganda din they help us decided on what to OWN.

Btw first post lang po, pasyensya kung medyo malabo mag salita.

[dr. d]

I wish there was a review site that reviewed from the angle of an everyday motorist. Sure nandun pa din yung mga technical specs, performance, quality etc., pero sana meron din yung isasama nila kung kamusta ang pag maintain outside ng casa, availability ng parts (whether OEM or aftermarket), and average reselling value. It's great that reviews help us decide on what to buy, pero maganda din they help us decided on what to OWN.

Btw first post lang po, pasyensya kung medyo malabo mag salita.

i wish there was a "car review of the week/month" here, but there isn't.
but there are several locally-based car review pates available in the internet.. just google 'em, po. type the model of interest, and...

[vinj]

I wish there was a review site that reviewed from the angle of an everyday motorist. Sure nandun pa din yung mga technical specs, performance, quality etc., pero sana meron din yung isasama nila kung kamusta ang pag maintain outside ng casa, availability ng parts (whether OEM or aftermarket), and average reselling value. It's great that reviews help us decide on what to buy, pero maganda din they help us decided on what to OWN.

Btw first post lang po, pasyensya kung medyo malabo mag salita.

Welcome to the board.

You have forums such as tsikot to give you such needed info.

[coydeleon]

Welcome to the board.

You have forums such as tsikot to give you such needed info.

Of course, when in doubt, crowd source! LOL

[go-to-guy]

No offense sa ibang writers here pero the local reviews (most if not all) are a joke compared kahit man lang sa Malaysia. Didn't read through this whole thread but the thread title reminded me of this review from Jason Dela Cruz na from Top Gear pa naman. This guy should've been fired or never hired in the first place.
https://youtu.be/Ghz60_yRbmo

And this one na cringe worthy:
https://youtu.be/zLv8LCHUNOo

[Wh1stl3r2]

Something I'd like to see is long term testing. How well the car has held up after running up a lot of Kms, actual FC, long term comfort, convenience and such. There are a lot of things you can only experience after spending a lot more time than the weekend the car is loaned to the reviewer. And how about not sugar coating the negatives. It seems with most local reviews every car is a good car, just different.

Other than BHP I also like some Aussie reviews. They're not afraid to highlight all the negatives. Although clearly some are biased, specially when the car is "developed by Australian engineers" or for "tuned to Australian conditions". You just know where it's going at that point.

[anonemus]

I prefer car reviews in India as their road conditions and drivers' mentality are similar to ours

https://youtu.be/JlWwmDdrCbk

[niky]

Something I'd like to see is long term testing. How well the car has held up after running up a lot of Kms, actual FC, long term comfort, convenience and such. There are a lot of things you can only experience after spending a lot more time than the weekend the car is loaned to the reviewer. And how about not sugar coating the negatives. It seems with most local reviews every car is a good car, just different.

Other than BHP I also like some Aussie reviews. They're not afraid to highlight all the negatives. Although clearly some are biased, specially when the car is "developed by Australian engineers" or for "tuned to Australian conditions". You just know where it's going at that point.

Read the "Used Car" section of Top Gear Philippines.



Actually, I think it would be great if they let us do it for cars that are not going out of production already.

[StockEngine]

Topgearph and Autoindustriya recently reviewed 2015 models of the crv and strada. They didnt mention these vehicles were released a year ago and have discounts already. 👀

[jut703]

Topgearph and Autoindustriya recently reviewed 2015 models of the crv and strada. They didnt mention these vehicles were released a year ago and have discounts already. [emoji102]

No local car review ever mentions discounts, new release or not.


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[Dre09]

One thing wrong with that approach is that each owner is biased towards his/her vehicle. It doesn't help much with comparisons unless the owner owns all the vehicles in question. Otherwise, each owner will be saying, "Mine is better".

I tend to agree with niky that some car magazines are so big that it's the car manufacturers who come to them. The sheer volume of vehicles being tested means that the journalists/staffers doing the testing don't have time to cozy up to a particular brand. It may sound impersonal and clinical. But, I feel that's the way it should be.

I tend to look at both owners' reviews and magazine reviews. With the owner's reviews, I tend to look at things such as fit and finish, ergonomics, long-term reliability, etc. Only an owner can accurately supply those information. With car magazines, I use them for comparisons and for hard performance numbers. While these numbers may vary among different magazines, the proportionality of these numbers among different car brands are fairly consistent. An obvious example is my 2006 Sonata V6. Many online car magazines have 0-60mph at 7+ sec while C/D has it at 6.6 sec and Motor Trend has it at 6.8 sec. There's a disparity in actual numbers. But, the fact those numbers are virtually identical to an A/T V6 Accord's is consistent across different magazines.

Of course, there's no way of knowing the hard numbers on my own and that's where car magazines come in the most handy since they do have the equipment to measure peformance. They're also in the best position to do comparison tests such as the not-too-old V6 midsize sedan comparisons by both C/D and MT.

Of course, you can't please everyone. C/D, in particular, had been accused in the past by vengeful domestic car owners as catering to the import brands to the point that their patriotism was being questioned. There was a big hubbub about it at the wake of Desert Storm back in the early 90's.

Personally, there's no substitute for actually going out to a dealer and test-driving cars if you really want the bottom line. Many of my friends were shocked to see me drive to work in a V6 Sonata when they were expecting to see me in either a V6 Altima or Mazda 6. They just can't believe that I (er, we) chose the Hyundai. But,we did our homework, and the Hyundai it was.

hmmm...what about those things that you will never see when the car is brand new? what about those things that happen along the way as your car gets a bit of age? I know this thread is a bit old, but I do hope you reply...I am currently gathering info on where to get a "Legit" info about new cars. Sales agents are not helpful at all...

[StockEngine]

hmmm...what about those things that you will never see when the car is brand new? what about those things that happen along the way as your car gets a bit of age? I know this thread is a bit old, but I do hope you reply...I am currently gathering info on where to get a "Legit" info about new cars. Sales agents are not helpful at all...

What specific car do you have in mind? New cars have online reviews now. There are also dedicated forums for them. Hyundai-forums is one.

[Dre09]

What specific car do you have in mind? New cars have online reviews now. There are also dedicated forums for them. Hyundai-forums is one.

WOW!! THAT WAS QUICK!! THANKS FOR THE REPLY!! I am actually canvasing for a new Pick up truck. (4X2 Variants).. do you know where I can get facts about these competing brands?

[chevykriz]

WOW!! THAT WAS QUICK!! THANKS FOR THE REPLY!! I am actually canvasing for a new Pick up truck. (4X2 Variants).. do you know where I can get facts about these competing brands?

Try chevrolet colorado 4x2 Lt or Ltx variant. 2.8L 200HP 500 torque

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[Walter]

Avoid the Chevrolet brand ...

[travajante]

Talk about thread resurrection.[emoji4]

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