[rjalihal]

I like to read auto mags. ACI is my favorite simply because in the new car buyer's guide, they quote OTR pricing for most cars! Other mags give only ex-showroom price which to me is vague. But as far as the content is concerned I enjoy reading the articles. Of course Team BHP offers the good and bad in detail about all cars, so for in depth analysis I refer to this forum. Car mags are nice just for buyers guide, the ads they have, time pass in the loo and the smell of the cover when its new

@ Sheel: For Auto magazine comparison you can refer this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...o-mag-war.html

[acidkill]

I was referring to the ACI edition of april.

Overall i would say that the article was like

• Polo is the best
• Fabia is a respectable No.2 but its a previous generation VW without the upgrades
• i20 is a bigger i10 so its uncool
• Grande Punto is all show and no go

The articles language as such was nitpicking to find faults in other cars and at the same time whitewashing the flaws of the polo. Some of the glaring points i want to highlight are:

1. The grande punto reviewed was the lowest model (active) which was a whole 1 lakh cheaper than all other models compared. It obviously would have lesser features and poor trim - which ACI pointed out as a flaw. Despite being the cheapest, the Grande Punto wasn't given any credit for being VFM. Which lead me to wonder "why are they trashing the Grande punto so much?"

2. The i20 is reported as an evolution of the i10 with no major jump in quality. I felt that the i10 was a fairly high end compact segment car and was known for very good interiors anyways

3. In the verdict there was a phrase like "i20 has a strong engine but a poor driving experience". This felt like a contradiction.

4. The Jazz was missing from the so called "premium hatch shootout", while the segment leader "swift" and new entrant "figo" were conveniently omitted.

5. In gear acceleration data of the grande punto was the best, While that of the polo was the second worst. The punto didnt get any kudos and was described as "weak mid range" and "out of breath" , but at the same time the polo was called "driveable ", "hits the sweet spot in city traffic", "lively" etc etc

[ampere]

I used to read many auto mags, but finally zeroed on ACI, which also I stopped after tbhp. I had maximum respect for ACI, which also seems like dwindling.

[kiku007]

I buy ACI at times for the test drive numbers. Pretty good.

But their column on "Suggest the right car for a reader" (Don't remember the section's correct name) is THE MOST BIASED section in the whole magazine. They would just suggest a few hand picked models for most of the questions.

As an individual I can be biased towards a brand but a magazine? No pls

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by GTO

Since day one of inception, we had decided that Team-BHP will NEVER accept any advertisements / revenue from Indian car manufacturers. That stays as of date, 6 years down the line, and is NOT expected to change (like ever!).

Reason : We are very clear about whose interests we want to serve : That of petrolheads & Indian car owners. I find it amusing how some publications & other automotive websites are entirely funded by the car industry, yet claim to work toward the cause of the consumer. A conflict of interest, if I ever saw one.

Team-BHP remains the only mass available information resource on Indian cars that is independent of the auto industry's marketing $$$ .

Great job by Mod team. Maintaining quality of the forum and maintaining neutral stance must not be an easy job.

After buying every car magazine available in India since their launch i have cut down to just Autocar India now, that too for the performance specs.

How about including Performance figures with the road tests? That may require much more effort and money but i think that's the only thing missing in the road tests.

[manim]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I stopped purchasing magazines,eversince i started browsing tbhp

says it all

Same here! I used to buy nearly all car mags, now I have quit. I now get my fix from Team-Bhp

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by GTO

Since day one of inception, we had decided that Team-BHP will NEVER accept any advertisements / revenue from Indian car manufacturers. That stays as of date, 6 years down the line, and is NOT expected to change (like ever!).

Team-BHP remains the only mass available information resource on Indian cars that is independent of the auto industry's marketing $$$ .

Amen to that!

Originally Posted by Sheel

I bought that particular mag because i was getting Windows Service Pack 3 with it

Whatta reason to buy an automag!!! You could have bought a computer magazine <just kiddin'>

Originally Posted by acidkill

1. The grande punto reviewed was the lowest model (active) which was a whole 1 lakh cheaper than all other models compared. It obviously would have lesser features and poor trim - which ACI pointed out as a flaw. Despite being the cheapest, the Grande Punto wasn't given any credit for being VFM. Which lead me to wonder "why are they trashing the Grande punto so much?"
5. In gear acceleration data of the grande punto was the best, While that of the polo was the second worst. The punto didnt get any kudos and was described as "weak mid range" and "out of breath" , but at the same time the polo was called "driveable ", "hits the sweet spot in city traffic", "lively" etc etc

Now we know who bought them over, and which car do they consider as their main target / competition - and rightfully so. GP has better engines compared to the puny 3 cylinders of the polo (no, I am not polo bashing, but consider all 3 pots as puny - I am biased!), and the GP's handling is one of the best - a classic Fiat trademark!

[SmartCat]

Hmm. I must be the only one who buys all the car magazines sold in India. I used to subscribe to Autocar UK magazine too.

I would like to give the journos some slack. It's a new car basically, and when its new vs old, generally you will like what you see in the new car (the Polo in this case). This is especially true because the journo is not buying a new car with his money - he is just giving an opinion.

All automags list out the pros and the cons, especially in the comparos. You don't need to go ahead and buy based on the 'verdict' - but one can atleast weigh all the pros & cons that matter to you before buying.

Also, one must understand that car companies need Auto mags for advertising and brand building just as much as the magazine needs the advertising money. Ford won't stop advertising their Figo in Autocar India just because they criticized the lack of power windows at the rear or VW won't stop advertising in Autocar India just because they criticized the lack of steering mounted audio controls in the Polo.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Hmm. I must be the only one who buys all the car magazines sold in India. I used to subscribe to Autocar UK magazine too.

I would like to give the journos some slack. It's a new car basically, and when its new vs old, generally you will like what you see in the new car (the Polo in this case). This is especially true because the journo is not buying a new car with his money - he is just giving an opinion.

All automags list out the pros and the cons, especially in the comparos. You don't need to go ahead and buy based on the 'verdict' - but one can atleast weigh all the pros & cons that matter to you before buying.

Also, one must understand that car companies need Auto mags for advertising and brand building just as much as the magazine needs the advertising money. Ford won't stop advertising their Figo in Autocar India just because they criticized the lack of power windows at the rear or VW won't stop advertising in Autocar India just because they criticized the lack of steering mounted audio controls in the Polo.

Irrespective of the sponsors, ads, auto magazines, independent reviews from Team-BHP, there is another thing that can effect the outcome. That is, depending on the person who is reviewing the car, his thoughts will be inclined towards either a common mans perspective or an enthusiasts perspective. It can add up if there is already a higher expectation from the car manufacturer to deliver (Eg: VW-Polo). A balanced judgment will be more appreciable. This is mainly WRT the engine and drivablity.

This helps since 90% of the people who read these reviews will be common men who would be driving the car for their day to day requirements.

Eg: We know that any entry level CRDI Diesel engine will have Turbo Lag, Narrow Torque band. Stressing that the car can not be driven below 2000 RPM will be confusing. If gear has to be downshifted, so be it.

Having said that, I fully appreciate Team-BHP reports and I can vouch for it against any other reports any day. This is only my feedback.

[vb-saan]

Off-late I have been watching quite a lot of reviews by OD, ACI etc. over youtube mobile. The biased opinions are quite evident (could be a personal view of the reviewer). Fiat's 'blue & me' feature is quite well-publicised by the company. And the reviewer from OD started his review of Fiat Linea by testing this phone connectivity feature. He read out one number, and an engaged tone came up from the other end. And the guy promptly declared "Well, the system is not working very well. Anyway, lets move on".

Now thats like starting a review a negative note. He got an engaged tone from the other end and he declared that the system is not working well. For a viewer / reader, its possible that an opinion is formed with that comment.

[amulu10]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Great job by Mod team. Maintaining quality of the forum and maintaining neutral stance must not be an easy job.

After buying every car magazine available in India since their launch i have not cut down to just Autocar India now, that too for the performance specs.

How about including Performance figures with the road tests? That may require much more effort and money but i think that's the only thing missing in the road tests.

You hit the nail on the head! thats the only thing missing in the road tests of teambhp. Time to invest in a new gtech pro.?

[amit27]

If you look deeper there has been no mention of A** trouble given by Skoda to its owner and this only exists in mind of some people if you go by automags . Similarly Toyota's worldwide has no mention anywhere in automags infact even magazines like Newsweek have berated Toyota for same. This has more to do with general fall in standards of journalism which has become a paid article publishing business helped generously by overactive PR machinery . Seriously you wauld not expect a journo travelling to all beautiful places in the world first class , stay in fancy hotel and come back and write a less than glowing review ( honest I would not ) afterall I need to be on the next plane and accumulate frequent flier points for trip with my wife .
Sadly this is becoming the norm for journalistic profession per se not just for auto mags just look at our auto shows on leading channels and watch news in general there is more trivia than substance .

[Pyrotek]

While I've held Autocar India in great esteem, the recent hatch shootout has convinced me that even they have fallen prey to the auto industry's whims and fancies.

Check out the april issue where they've pitted the polo against the i20, Punto and Skoda Fabia.

I ask you, is it Fiat's fault that they're selling you a 1.4 at the same price at which the others are selling their 1.2s? I do not understand the logic of pitting a Punto 1.2 Active against an i20 Asta, Polo Highline and Fabia Ambiente!! Its ridiculous. Then they complain the Punto has dull interiors and no safety features! The cheek of these guys!!

At the end of the day, comparisons have to match against the price points as well. Correctly speaking, they should have pitted the 1.4 Emotion Pack. That would have been a fair comparison.

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Don't know which magazine you are referring to, but I always get a feeling OD has bias towards VW! It gets more re-inforced with the recent Polo comparison 'tests'.

However, i did like their Figo v/s Ritz test in the same edition. Thats more of a comparison test!

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

Check out the april issue where they've pitted the polo against the i20, Punto and Skoda Fabia.

I ask you, is it Fiat's fault that they're selling you a 1.4 at the same price at which the others are selling their 1.2s? I do not understand the logic of pitting a Punto 1.2 Active against an i20 Asta, Polo Highline and Fabia Ambiente!! Its ridiculous.

According to me i am listing out the favourites for the automags i read/buy :

1) Autocar : Honda followed by VW & Suzuki

2) Overdrive : Absolutely biased towards VW & Skoda. They absolutely loves these brands & absolutely hate ford.

3) Top Gear : Loves BMW but cant argue much on that, IMO its the best everyday car maker.

4) Zigwheels : Full on Bajaj! Check out their march issue & you will know.

@Pyrotek : Given the choices here, I would straightaway go for the Punto 1.4! Its easily the best here & they only compared the 1.2 one with it! These mags are minting money. Especially Overdrive <-----

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

Then they complain the Punto has dull interiors...

This is subjective. I for one completely agree with this statement.