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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and extremely useful, November 29, 2004

By	Mark Cannon (Larchmont, NY) - See all my reviews

One of the most useful car references for the average buyer. Gives the basic info about each car: Prices (including "invoice price," i.e. dealer's cost), available options, most of the basic specifications, any new features or other changes, pros and cons of the car, and similar cars to consider.

The guide's most interesting feature is the rating of each car on a 10-point scale in each of 10 categories, including just about everything you might think of. Besides the numerical score, there's a little 2- or 3-sentence write-up on each category. Putting it all together, you get an extremely vivid (and accurate) impression of the car. Also, the format makes it easy to compare different cars very specifically, on whatever criteria you wish. I am not aware of any other source that allows such easy and comprehensive comparisons.

Three criticisms:

(1) The biggest problem is that the rating scale is not very intuitive, and very prone to misinterpretation. In short: The scores in general are better than they look. For example, how does 65 out of 100 sound? Not very good, right? But actually it's an EXTRAORDINARY score. For most classes of cars, anything over 60 is great, and in some classes even 50 is very good. It helps that the range of scores for each "class" is indicated, but still, the scores are easily misunderstood.

(2) Many people might feel there's an overemphasis on "practical" aspects, at the expense of things like luxury and performance. For example, one of the top scoring cars is the Toyota Camry, higher than any BMW or Mercedes or Porsche and higher than all but one Lexus. It's not because of any misjudgments, but because of what the rating categories consist of. For example, the final category, "Value Within Class," sort of penalizes a car for being more expensive. But, the practical emphasis may well suit most people's interests. (And the little write-ups under that last category, "Value Within Class," are wonderful little summaries of each car, perhaps the best that can be found anywhere.) But this does mean that you can't get a truly accurate picture by looking just at a car's total score -- you need to look at the individual categories to see what's really going on.

(3) There's no information on "reliability." If you're interested in that, you need to supplement this guide with another one, such as Consumer Reports.

But still.....very highly recommended. The pluses far outweigh the minuses, and are unequaled anywhere else. And the breakdowns and descriptions are so interesting that the guide makes for some nice reading even if you're not buying a car right now.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A primary resource when negotiating for a new car, March 14, 2007

By	Bruce in Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

I have been using the Consumer Digest guide for new cars in negotiating with the dealer for every new car I've purchased over the past 15 years. I'm convinced it has helped save me hundreds of dollars on each car I've bought.

The Consumer Digest guide includes important information that you won't find in the Consumer Reports or Edmunds guides. First, it includes the REAL dealer invoice price, as well as the MSRP, for the car and for each individual option. (The "real" invoice is lower than the so-called invoice price that the dealer will show you, since the dealer's invoice does not subtract the hold-backs). That information is a key tool that I've repeatedly used successfully in negotiations. Also, Consumer Digest more systematically and comprehensively lists the specs and features included in all of the various trim lines of each make and model (e.g., in the 'DX', 'LX', and 'EX' lines of the Accord model), and the options that can be added to each, facilitating the buyer's comparison of the various makes and models before having to visit a lot of showrooms. This saves much time and gives the buyer a better-informed and stronger negotiating position.

Unfortunately, I cannot find the Consumer Digest new car guide for 2006 (or 2007). If Consumer Digest has stopped publishing this valuable book, that is really sad. I wonder if manufacturers are no longer cooperating in providing car specs and invoice data because too many dealers have complained about buyers using this book during negotiations.