Actually, you will find that your friends and relatives choose cars based on very different values/priorities/needs/wants etc. There is no right or wrong but what makes the ultimate owner of the car happy. Thats it.
What is good value to one may not be good value to another. So, sometimes, its really pointless to compare. I think Auto magazines aim are, to give the reader more information to make the choice easier. This may not be the end result, as sometimes it does confuse people as well!. "Backfiring syndrome".

So back to my original intend of this post. If pricing were similar. And we see that its close enough. Then priorities: easy to drive, comfort ride, good space utility. One just wins over the other in this 3 areas alone. Simple as that.