Quote:
Originally Posted by KoenG
Owning a car has never been a criterium to say something usefull about it. That's why I generally value professional journalists driving all kind of cars all day long more than the average joe that only drives that single specific car.
When I would own a M135i, it will not put my opinion above the one of Steve's. I could only conclude that maybe my preferences lay a bit different.
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Nothing wrong with that, provided we all bear in mind that
- All car reviews are subjective
- Car reviews test aspects of performance and use that are often irrelevant to the daily needs of most drivers
- There's relatively few motoring journos who are professional drivers
- Professional drivers often can't write, write logically, and/or have quite big gaps in their technical knowledge. Also, one should never assume they are unbiased, because they typically have a number of commercial interests that are not disclosed
- Car tests are often done in quite a short time, ie, the test drivers are exposed to them for quite short periods.
- Most cars evolve for the better over time, with development.
Motor test journalists regularly contradict themselves, or make comments they've heard others make (eg, Audi - front heavy, numb steering) which I find really annoying.
Yes, they help inform us, as consumers, but they're not handing out tablets of stone, just subjective opinions based on their individual cognitive biases. Just like me!