[tyoung]

I have been a subscriber to CR for decades and they used to be fair and apparently truthful. In the last five years, there has been an increased bias AGAINST Honda and Toyota and a bias FOR European cars.

The bias detected is not an observation but a calculation of the problems as reported by owners in CR's own used car reliability charts. I conducted this analysis on data for 2017 and 2018 and the bias was consistent for both years.

In terms of reliability ranking bias Audi, BMW, and Porsche receives a POSITIVE +5 ranking bias and Toyota and Honda received a NEGATIVE -7 and -5 respectively.

I have not worked on 2019 data but I assume its will have a similar bias. As far as the Passport and Pilot are concerned, both received a 'neutral' reliability ranking even though the Pilot had all positive reviews in the last three years except 3 out of 51 year/category combinations which is second to only the Toyota Highlander that had 1 out of 51. The other disparity is the HIGH recommendations for the Civic and CRV that both have serious engine problems that are not reflected in their reviews while they continue to bash the Pilot and Passport for their infotainment system.

As bad as Honda has been reviewed, Toyota has suffered worse because it by far, is the most reliable auto-maker and that has not been reflected in their reliability ranking.

 

[tyoung]

I'm waiting for a reviewer of cars to acknowledge the engine problems with the Honda CRV. Consumer Reports have commented on it for example but have done nothing to reduce their rating of the car. Most other reviewers don't even mention the issue.

I guess I should not be surprised, the lure of advertising money taints reviews but if Consumer Reports were as independent as they claim, they would not recommend the car until its fixed. In the meantime, they still keep downgrading the Pilot and Passport for the infotainment system which is subjective and meaningless when compared to a defective engine.