Finding Car Road Test Reports

When you are looking at buying a new or used car, you want to make sure you do all of your research.  There are several different websites that you can visit to get information on different cars.  On at least two of the most popular websites, you can do a side by side comparison between different makes and models.  Each website offers car road tests reports.  One of these websites even offers videos of the test drives. 

Looking at the two main websites for car road tests, you will find that there are many different aspects of the cars that you may find important and other things that you may not care about.  For example, on both the Car and Driver® magazine website at http://www.caranddriver.com and the Motor Trend magazine website at http://www.motortrend.com, they preview the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.  This car is based on the classic Shelby GT.  Motor Trend tested performed their car road tests in Dearborn, Michigan and Sonoma, California.  Car and Driver® does some testing of the Shelby, but does not state where they did the car road tests, and they post slightly different times and results than either Motor Trend or Ford.

Car and Driver® is one of the more famous magazines for car reviews and comparisons.  This website is known to be accurate, even when the reviewer is giving his opinions instead of facts about the cars.  Though some of the results posted on the Car and Driver® website may be specs that the auto company has put out, many other specs are the result of vigorous car road tests done by the reviewers who have years of experience at reviewing cars.  Though the reviewers at Car and Driver® may sound like they do not like the vehicle they are reviewing, it is more likely they are trying to stay impartial with their car road tests results.  This shows that they are totally reviewing each vehicle, not falling for the perennial make and model that everyone loves.  They even lambaste the Shelby GT500 for poor gas mileage among other things.

In addition to the car road tests that Car and Driver® posts online, you will find that they do reviews of the new cars every year.  This will allow you to compare a number of different cars in one place.  Whether you are buying a new car or a used car, knowing the reports and comparison from Car and Driver® can help you make an informed choice about which car you want.  Beside each article describing the car road tests results, is a short list of all the specifications for the car you are looking at.  This overview shows everything from the vehicle type to the engine type, and transmission type.  Additionally, Car and Driver® lists the car road tests results on the sidebar, including information like how fast the car will go from 0 to 60 mph, and how long it would take to go from a standing to 1/4 miles. 

When Motor Trend Magazine releases their car road tests reports, they have done thorough testing as well as thoroughly interviewing the auto company for more information.  Additionally, the expert interviews are included in the car road tests results on the Motor Trend website.  In addition to a thorough review of the car road tests results, the Motor Trend website includes video reviews of each vehicle.  These video clips are similar to what you would see if you saw an independent review of the car on television.  The reviewer describes different aspects of the car, and you get an idea of what the vehicle is like with more than just pictures.

The video clips and the longer car road tests results listed on the Motor Trend website give a bit more information than the one page review listed on the Car and Driver® website.  This does not mean that the Car and Driver® website does not have a purpose, or that the Motor Trend website is better.  In each case, the reviewers and the websites themselves bring something new to the car road tests review.  This means that you can get more information than ever when you are considering buying a new or newer used car.

If you do not mind paying to get the car road tests results for different vehicles, you can check out the ConsumerReports.org® website for in-depth information between the different cars.  Though this website does not offer video information at this time, in the future, this may be added to their website.  Additionally, the ConsumerReports.org® website shows the car road tests results for several different types of tests including estimated fuel economy, safety performance and overall ownership costs.  These tests help give more detailed information so that you can make an informed decision on which car you should buy, or which car has all of the features that you are looking for in your next vehicle. 

Once you pay for a subscription to the ConsumerReports.org® website, you can do side by side comparisons of the different vehicles available.  Additionally, these comparisons are based on more than 50 tests performed by the reviewers at the ConsumerReports.org® offices.  After the tests were performed, the test results were added together to give a result between 1 and 100 points for that vehicle. 

With a separate section on car road tests results, the Motor Trend website may seem like the better choice when you are looking to get unbiased information for a vehicle purchase.  However, if you check out all three websites, the ConsumerReports.org® website at http://www.consumerreports.org, the Motor Trend website at http://www.motortrend.com and the Car and Driver® website at http://www.caranddriver.com have unique things to offer a serious car buyer.  Since each magazine performs many car road tests each year, they are able to give an absolute comparison between different makes and models.  When different people perform the car road tests, then you might wonder if the difference is in the vehicles or with the drivers.