By Sibin S. S.

Most car enthusiasts enjoy watching shows and reading magazines that do reviews on all sorts of cars. They go from so-called low-budget cars to super sport cars. We read them, watch them and enjoy the entertainment. But here comes the main question: are these reviews realistic and would they, in fact, help the common driver in choosing a car to buy.

Would the common driver, if he/she intends to buy, open his/her favorite magazine or watch their favorite show and lean on their judgment. The answer is probably: no (With all do respect to the big names in show-biz).

For car reviews have evolved from a bit dull, mostly technical reviews to a full-fledged adrenalin packed show. So, let’s take it from the top: what is a average driver That’s the driver who wants good value for money, reliability, long service intervals and an abundance of spare parts for his car. All of these terms seem hard to meet, but most car-makers have long since met these. In a quality manner, if I may notice.

Here comes in the clash. The most obvious reasons for this are:

- Most magazines and reviews deal with the latest in car technology (not to mention the most expensive) leading only the common driver to drool in his sleep and see something that he is probably never going to have. Not that this is bad, but has little influence in the real world.

- The way the car-testing is being done is different from the real exploitation of the car. Seeing the test driver push the car to its limits of course reveals some faults, but in regular every day driving, the car is very good. How many times is an average driver going to push his new car to the extreme (sliding, hand-brake maneuvers etc.)

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