Every reviewer who tries to quantify their experience when driving a particular vehicle is going to pay attention to those parts of the drive which they most value. In preparation for reviewing cars, I created a Scorecard which contains multiple categories and subcategories important to me, and, I believe, the average American driver, who gets stuck in traffic while commuting, but who might also take their car on a road trip or on a weekend drive. Each subcategory on the Scorecard gets combined into a Category score, and then those are totaled for an Overall Total score. The written review accompanying the Scorecard then explains how I came up with each score, and in most cases, goes into some detail about certain characteristics of the vehicle which I found noteworthy, whether good or bad.
Taking all this into account, the score of a car should not determine your overall thoughts about the car by itself. You may not agree with the scores, but then again, the point of view I represent may not match your own. The Scorecard tries to be as fair as possible, giving any car a chance to score the maximum of 100 points. Given that maximum, expect an average car to score about 50 points, an above-average car in the 70s, and a below-average car only in the 30s. Cars which get above 75 should definitely get a look from you if you’re in the New Car market, and cars which garner less than 35 points should probably be avoided.
For the average American driver, a car which goes, turns and stops well, without being confusing or hard to drive, will garner praise. This is why brands like Lexus are so popular. They create easy to drive cars with adequate power, good brakes and steering which works without requiring too much effort. While import to many drivers, looks are completely subjective, so they are not quantified in the Scorecard, although they may be mentioned in the written part of the review. For drivers looking for a weekend car, or something they may not have to commute in regularly, reading different parts of the Scorecard will give them the answers they’re looking for.
Hopefully you get some useful information out of the Scorecard and written reviews, so that when you next visit a dealership, you’ll already have an idea of which car to get thanks to Road Reality.
As always, if you want to open a dialog on a review, have a car you’d specifically like reviewed, or work at a dealership and would like to lend vehicles to Road Reality for review, please Email me.
John Suit
Editor