Can you trust car reviews?
When it comes to choosing a car, we all have our own preferences, but most people will rely on the opinions of car reviews as much as a test drive to inform their purchase.
In this way, car reviewers occupy a position of great power, and given the amount of money involved in buying a car, their status engenders a certain amount of trust alongside their influence.
For instance, you might read a film or gig review before buying a ticket, but you know that your opinions may differ from those of the reviewer, and it is an acceptable gamble to try a film that your gut says you’ll like in spite of a negative review – especially when the cost is only a handful of Euros.
However, when you’re taking a gamble on something that’ll set you back tens of thousands of Euros, you hope that the trust you’re putting in a reviewer is well-placed. But, is it?
Today we ask whether you can truly trust a car review…
When is sponsored content not sponsored?
The rules around advertising in print or online are very clear: any journalist and publication must be transparent about the role that a brand had in either funding/sponsoring the article, or if any products or services were offered in a manner that could influence the article.
If a brand had paid for the content or gifted products, then the reader has the right to know that the article may be a biased in the favour of that brand.
Hell, this is why advertorial is so prominent – an advert dressed up as well-written, convincing journalism is much more impactful in influencing buyers than an advert, and can be cheaper too.
Tom Scott provides a succinct summary of how press junkets and relationships with PR agencies can be tantamount to advertising - and, despite increasing regulation, there are still major influencers who are not bound by transparency laws. Car reviews being a prime example. Credit: Tom Scott
So, what does this have to do with car reviews?
Car reviews aren’t simply as clear cut as a journalist driving a car for a period of time and then writing about what they liked and what they didn’t.
Car journalists are in touch with armies of PR people from car manufacturers who keep them informed about the latest models and upcoming events. These PR people also decide the order in which journalists are given access to the latest models, so keeping them sweet is paramount if you want to have an exclusive on the next-big-thing.
These PR people are also the gate-keepers to plush launch events with free food, drink and other perks, or they may even arrange foreign trips to test drive the latest car in warmer climes, while putting on dinners at five-star restaurants, with travel expenses covered for those lucky few journalists picked to attend.
Car journalists are as responsible for creating public demand for SUVs as car manufacturers are. Yet accountability for the impact this has on road safety and emissions is rare is ever apparent. Credit: IEA/The Guardian
We should know, our Editor has worked on the PR side of such events.
Sure, this is the way it’s always been, but does this not influence the journalist’s bias when it comes to writing about the car? Might a fancy getaway, mingling with celebrities, free travel and an exclusive experience not enhance their opinion on a mediocre car?
And, similarly, might the fear that they’ll miss out on the next invite-only event or opportunity to run an exclusive on the next major model temper a bad review into a more positive one for fear of reprisal from the PR people?
If it didn’t, why would car manufacturers continue to pay PR agencies to manage these relationships?
Reviewer or Influencer?
It is one thing for a person who drives professionally to review incomparable cars that raise their expectations – after all, the latest €20k MG is hardly going to live up to the bells, whistles or performance of a €200k Lamborghini.
But can a car review truly be seen as an independent, unbiased opinion for everyday consumers when the car industry itself exerts such a heavy influence who reviews their cars, when they do so, and what benefits they are offered in return?
Perhaps it is time for greater transparency about the rewards and experiences that are offered by car manufacturers to journalists, so that those reliant on their work are informed about any underlying biases that may temper a review.
After all, the car journalism industry is as responsible for promoting the rise of SUVs as the car manufacturers themselves, and therefore must share some accountability for the role they play in worsening the Climate Crisis and road safety.
Furthermore, it is entirely conceivable that the almost ubiquitous lack of informed writing about the role of cars in the Climate Crisis, or any reliable reporting on car emissions from car journalists is down to their all-too-close relationship with manufacturers that they want to keep on side.
By Owners, For Owners
It is with this in mind that we are launching a new section on IrishEVs asking electric car owners to submit their own experiences of their cars.
Shockingly, this headline isn’t from 2001 - it’s from 2021. A prominent Irish journalist used their platform to recommend people buy ICEs ‘before it’s too late’ - completely ignoring that this will make it too late to act on rising emissions in the face of the Climate Crisis. Credit: The Irish Times
Journalists have a limited time with each car, but our readers drive them each and every day, and aren’t influenced by manufacturers. They’ll be able to share honest feedback on the benefits, quirks and foibles of their vehicles so that people like them can make a better informed decision about whether a model is right for them.
This is consumer advice written by consumers themselves.
We hope that, in the coming weeks and months, we’ll have several reviews for each EV model so that our readers can benefit from multiple viewpoints about the same vehicle, in order to make better-informed choices about the right EV for them.
All reviews will be vetted by IrishEVs and will follow a standard format so that those looking for honest feedback on car models can readily compare reviews in a like-for-like manner.
Any EV owners who have owned their car for a minimum of six months and are eager to share their experiences can contact irishevguide@gmail.com to be sent our review template.
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