I'm surprised no one has mentioned our two 'Forum-Reviewer-Helpers' yet. Then again, many might not know who this 'Roger' guy is
He DOES have the cutest dimples, I must say.
Flattery will get you everywhere.
But please don't let it get out that I occasionally smile.
Big props to Mike and John on the article. I've been eager to see how they would handle what had to be a daunting task, and they absolutely nailed it. Each vehicle was given thoughtful review, both singularly and in a comparative context, with the collective views of various testers seamlessly blended in. Hats off gents.
And a big thanks for being included in the test crew. A really unique and memorable experience, to say the least. Having read more comparison tests than I can recall, I now have a much better appreciation for the work that goes into executing one. We weren't spinning about a parking lot here, folks. We had a long, comprehensive route, with major highways, city streets, secondary highways and twisty backroads all in the mix. Each driver had a long turn behind the wheel of each test vehicle, and a raft of comprehensive scoresheets to keep track of. It was a lot of work, and a huge blast.
Extra bonus meeting our own resident forum hottie - Brigitte.
I'll add some of my thoughts on the vehicles in a bit. There really is no equivalent to an opportunity like this to see how segment competitors stack up. And I'd say that something surprised me about each car relative to my preconceptions and expectations - some good, some not. As to the CR-V claiming top spot on all scoresheets, I'm both surprised and unsurpirsed by that. The Mazda was very well liked - I thought it might have grabbed top spot on at least one card. But Honda really put it together with this new entry.
Jaeger