" It always seemed inconsistent, and I’ve questioned their ratings since then. "
I’ve made the same observations. They’ll have one vehicle as recommended and another one not recommended, but when you look at the ratings for each individual car, their overall ratings are fairly equal, Not A Hill Of Beans Difference.
Notice that I did say that I look at the ratings / reviews and note that I have had an uninterrupted subscription (pay 5 years at a time), but the car advice doesn’t match with my personal experiences and observations, over and over, again.
They’ve helped me with decisions regarding Mr. Coffees, TVs, appliances, Behr paint, etcetera. Most of these items they test, some extensively. I still use the car “reviews” where they have the actual cars there, but I really question the car rating buyer’s advice.
I would have missed some wonderful vehicles and wasted lots of money over the years, heeding that. That’s my opinion and I wasn’t born yesterday. I have some ideas as to what’s behind this, but I won’t comment on it.
CSA