[tla]

Here's an interesting article about the faults experienced in cars reviewed by Fairfax Media motoring journalists in 2013.

Car faults of 2013

Some brands exhibited more problems than others. We drove 17 BMWs, for example, and only one had a fault, while of the 12 Jeeps we tested, three had problems of some form or another. We drove 29 Holdens and had four faults, while of the 19 Fords we drove, two had problems.

Some brands didn’t show up any problems during our time testing their cars, including the 17 different Mitsubishi models we tested, and the 11 Hyundais that came through the garage.

[Dazzler]

Nice find thanks! 

I know they have mules that get shunted around the traps for the magazines to test drive and such, but I have often thought when they mention a fault in a review that the suppliers are crazy for not doing a though check of everything between loans. 

[Lakes]

nothing is perfect, they all have there falts.
but not many new car's would let you down, even if the drivers flog them, just what i think.
journalists are like Doctor's, give them a bonus or a freebie & they say what you want. i never pay attention to journalist's as just a bunch of story teller's not engineers.
cheers

[eye30]

They are there to sell papers not cars

[Dazzler]

The bluetooth issues and stuff were in a completely different league to the relatively major mechanical faults in the Fiats, Jeeps and Holdens IMHO ...

[plasticphyte]

I wouldn't fault manufacturer on things like Bluetooth problems etc, because they're not always indicative of a mfg fault. Especially when the sample size is one car.

[AlanHo]

Nice find thanks! 

I know they have mules that get shunted around the traps for the magazines to test drive and such, but I have often thought when they mention a fault in a review that the suppliers are crazy for not doing a though check of everything between loans. 

That's interesting. I noticed when the GD i30 was launched in the UK that the reg No on the cars tested by the various magazines were different. Hyundai clearly provided each of them with a new car not thrashed by other testers.

[Dazzler]

Nice find thanks! 

I know they have mules that get shunted around the traps for the magazines to test drive and such, but I have often thought when they mention a fault in a review that the suppliers are crazy for not doing a though check of everything between loans. 

That's interesting. I noticed when the GD i30 was launched in the UK that the reg No on the cars tested by the various magazines were different. Hyundai clearly provided each of them with a new car not thrashed by other testers.

It may have changed Alan, but when I subscribed to various Car Magazines many years ago, they occasionally suggested in their comments that a particular Test car had suffered a hard life doing the rounds (and they used the term Mule to describe them)

Australia is a smaller market, so maybe can't justify as many test cars!

[Surferdude]

^^^^^^
Quite right, Dazz.

Was the same until recently and may still be that way.
For the more rare models, the big players get first bite of the cherry, then down the line it goes.

[mjt57]

I wouldn't fault manufacturer on things like Bluetooth problems etc, because they're not always indicative of a mfg fault. Especially when the sample size is one car.

Yep, heaps of posts here from people who've had problems with their i30s' BT and phone connectivity. But many more, such as myself, who have experienced no problems, particularly when one learns exactly how it works and that each phone is different.

[Doggie 1]

Clearly, the "primate" tested Hyundai wasn't in Australia then.