Consumer Reports Got It So Wrong!

[NeilBlanchard]

From the quotes of the article, this is a hack job of the lowest order. The shear number of slam words makes this glaringly obvious. Somebody had to have paid them off and/or the author is hostile to EV's.

[aarond12]

Mitsubishi probably didn't pay them for a positive review.

You have to wonder when a "trusted" source like CR is using subjective, opinionated data rather than hard facts and numbers. The logical thought process is that they don't have the time/money to thoroughly test each vehicle and, instead, just make off-the-cuff judgments about the vehicle. If the car magazines tested cars the same way, they wouldn't have any subscribers left.

[JoeS]

Dang, I just realized something: if the heater was ON during CR's acceleration and performance tests, then of course the car is going to be slower, as the BMS limits the maximum total current draw out of the battery! Since their test conditions are nowhere to be found, we'll never know.

[JoeS]

Another commentary about Consumer Reports' continued attacks on the i-MiEV - I also added my perspective to the responses on the Inside EVs article.
http://insideevs.com/consumer-reports-even-after-price-drop-mitsubishi-i-miev-remains-an-overpriced-enclosed-golf-cart/

[mhdicke]

I immediately canceled my Consumer Reports subscription when I read their review. In fact, I wonder why I ever
subscribed since each of my purchases recommended by CR did not perform as indicated by their organization.

[JoeS]

I immediately canceled my Consumer Reports subscription when I read their review. In fact, I wonder why I ever subscribed since each of my purchases recommended by CR did not perform as indicated by their organization.

mhdicke, my hat's off to you!

Like it or not, MPGe is the fuel efficiency figure of merit assigned to electric vehicles by the EPA, ostensibly to maintain parity with infernal combustion engine vehicles. Using the conversion factor of 34.02kWh/gallon of gasoline and my measured 8000-mile average of 4.2miles/kWh wall-to-wheels, my i-MiEV's consumption rate is 142.88mpge.

For various obscure reasons, I'm still a subscriber to CR. Today I received a survey from Consumer Reports as a follow-up to their annual questionnaire. One of their questions dealt with the i-MiEV's fuel economy. Here's what I answered and here's how their survey responded:



Not only has Consumer Reports damned our great little car, but their survey is rigged to refuse a legitimate input.

Something about jousting with windmills seems appropriate here...

[BillThompsonMIEV]

Double plus 1 to you Joe. I received same survey. I put in 99MPG, as that was highest number. You are spot on.

[NeilBlanchard]

People are just stuck in the ICE age.

All the worry about meeting the 54MPG average in a decade - we can more than DOUBLE that NOW!

[jray3]

Now Forbes is regurgitating the pitiful CR review.
http://www2.forbes.com/business/15-new-cars-to-avoid/7/
I canceled my subscription years ago when it first came out but could be curious about the Buy It Again rating on every EV.

[siai47]

I just re-read the blogs about the Consumer Reports I-MiEV hatchet job. I am surprised how positive the majority of the posts were. This problem of perception will never go away along with the golf cart comments. I stopped in a gas station (no, not to get gas) and a guy came up to me who said his buddy's golf cart was nicer then my I-MiEV. I casually said that if his buddy really had a nice golf cart, he probably paid more for it then I did for the I-MiEV. That got the conversation going and in the end, he couldn't believe that you could get a car with all the features the I-MiEV has for anywhere near the price you pay for it. People don't understand that there are different vehicles for different purposes just like they don't understand that other people might be looking for something different in a vehicle then they look for. As some of you know, in addition to the I-MiEV I also have a Model S. The Model S is a truly great car as is should be for what it costs to buy. That being said each car has a definite purpose. I only drive the Model S if I have a trip that is beyond the range of the I-MiEV or it requires freeway travel. The bulk of my driving is in a urban environment, therefore the I-MiEV is the car of choice in those situations. It is much easier to thread through traffic, has better outside visablilty, and its easier to park then the Model S. You can also put bulkier items in the back of the I-MiEV (like a full sized washing machine)---not so with the Model S. I am not trying to brag, but I am very blessed to be able to afford to buy any car that I might want. What I want and what I need ended up with the I-MiEV being considered as my primary vehicle. If I only had one car, it wouldn't be the Model S which Consumer Reports gushes over. So as the thread title says "Consumer Reports Got It So Wrong!"