One has to be careful when watching many car video reviews to not lose their own views and opinions, and oust them in favor of what somebody else said. It’s so obvious sometimes that reviewers peek over the fence and end up all pointing out the same qualities and flaws over and over again, until you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s the way things are, full stop.

However, I’ve noticed that with Consumer Reports reviews, a new perspective is brought forth, on cars we already knew, by highlighting qualities or flaws that may have been (repeatedly) overlooked by others.

It may be down to the way they test the cars, or just their attitude towards them, but for instance, their freshly-uploaded quick takes for the Fiat 500L, Nissan Versa Note and Infiniti Q50 stand separately from the mainstream. According to them, the Note leaves the impression of being the best all-round car of the trio, despite at first glance seeming to be the least desirable…

The Infiniti is penalized for its vague steering that can get an optional steer-by-wire system, which makes things even worse in that respect. The Fiat wins points on style and space, but its automatic gearbox is dimwitted and the limited choice of engines (only one available) further hurts what is otherwise an enticing package for families.

Check out the videos for all three cars, below.

By Andrei Nedelea

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