重质不重型

    《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）杂志的汽车评测人员常被讽刺为60年代“超自由主义者”的遗老遗少，因为他们只关心一件事，那就是管理有限的资源。换句话说，无论是洗衣机、擦窗器还是汽车，他们最青睐的永远是最便宜、最简单的解决方案。

    事实上，《消费者报告》杂志的工作人员所关注的远远比这些东西重要，他们关注的是商品的价值，而且还制定了一套创新性的方法来为消费者衡量汽车的价值。首先他们会算出一款汽车5年内的每英里使用成本（折旧和油费是其中最大的两项开销），然后由杂志社内部的驾驶员进行试驾，对汽车性能进行打分。另外他们还会根据读者的反馈计算汽车的预期可靠性，最后得出一个价值分数，将其与平均分数进行对比，以体现某款车型相对其他车型的价值。

    《消费者报告》的价值分数清楚地列出了10大汽车类别的最高价值车型和最低价值车型，可以说这种排序方法独一无二。“最佳汽车排行榜”到处都有，但“最差汽车排行榜”却很少见，因为没有哪家媒体敢得罪潜在的广告商。但《消费者报告》并不接受广告，所以他们没有这个顾虑，敢于秉笔直言。

    在《消费者报告》给出的成绩单里，小型的亚洲轿车得分很高，因为他们的质量和续航里程都比较出众，而豪华或准豪华的轿车和SUV排名较为靠后，因为它们折旧率很高，燃油经济性差，而且尤为惊人的是，许多豪车的预期可靠性也很低。可见，一个上档次的品牌和较高的价格不一定能代表汽车的真实价值。《消费者报告》的排名有力地提醒了消费者：购车有风险，千万要谨慎。

Substance over style

    The car testers at Consumer Reports are often caricatured as granola-eating ultra-liberals left over from the 60s who are concerned with just one thing: managing finite resources. In other words -- the cheapest and simplest solution wins, whether it's washing machines, window-cleaners, or cars.

    In fact, the Consumer Reports folks are focused on something a lot more important -- value -- and they've come up with an ingenious way to measure it for car buyers. They figure five-year operating costs per mile (depreciation and fuel are the two biggest expenses), add in a road-test score from their own drives, and calculate predicted reliability based on a readers survey. Then they come up with a value score that compares a given model to the average car.

    The calculation provides a clear ranking of the best and worst values in 10 categories that is unavailable anywhere else. You can find "best car" lists everywhere. "Worst car" lists, on the other hand, are rare, because nobody wants to offend potential advertisers. But Consumer Reports doesn't accept advertising, so it doesn't run that risk.

    In the Consumer Reports universe, small Asian cars score highly because of their better quality and gas mileage, while luxury and near-luxury sedans and SUVs rank much further down. More expensive autos are done in by deep depreciation, skimpy fuel economy, and -- shockingly -- poor predicted reliability. The bottom line is that a status brand and a high price aren't good indicators of value. Consumer Reports' ratings make a convincing case for caveat emptor.

捷豹XJL

    2009年上市的最新款捷豹（Jaguar）XJL纤长的轮廓尽显雍容华贵，但质量却不甚可靠，容易让人们想起早年关于捷豹质量问题的故事。捷豹XJL在《消费者报告》的试驾中得分很高，但读者们反映它的可靠性远远低于平均水平。与此同时，这辆售价81,575美元的豪车仅仅每英里的使用费用就达到了1.58美元，几乎比本田飞度（Honda Fit）高出四倍。捷豹XJL的总体价值分数大概只有平均分值的三分之一，在所有上榜汽车中垫底。

Jaguar XJL

    Despite its svelte lines, the newest Jaguar, introduced in 2009, threatens to revive all those old tales about dodgy Jaguar quality. The XJL scored well on CR's test drives, but readers report that its reliability is much worse than average. Meanwhile, the $81,575 Jag costs $1.58 per mile to operate, nearly four times higher than a Honda Fit. The Jag's overall value score was about one-third of average vehicles -- worst among all the cars ranked.

捷豹XF

    捷豹XF比XJL的尺寸稍小一些，上市也要早一年，而且价格也便宜了许多（售价54,075美元），但它的价值分数几乎和XJL一样低。这是由于XF不仅可靠性令人沮丧，而且路试得分也非常一般。不过它的燃油经济性要稍好于XJL，每英里的使用费用为1.18美元。现在捷豹已被印度塔塔集团（Tata）收购，显然未来塔塔还有很多的工作要做。现在消费者已经变得越来越精明了。尽管2011年是豪车销售的丰收年，但捷豹去年的销量却下跌了8%。

Jaguar XF

    The smaller, older by one year, and less pricey ($54,075) Jag XF fared nearly as poorly as its higher-priced counterpart. Blame it on dismal reliability and mediocre road test scores, although the XF is slightly more economical to operate at a cost per mile of $1.18. India's Tata owns Jaguar now, and clearly it has plenty of work ahead of it. Customers have become wary. Despite a strong market for luxury cars in 2011, Jag sales fell 8% last year.

梅赛德斯-奔驰S550

    S550的底价为90,200美元，是奔驰（Mercedes-Benz）的当家旗舰，但是它的每英里使用成本高达1.7美元，而且可靠性低于平均水平，所以它也被划到了低价值的那一拨里。它的总体价值分数只有平均分值的一半，也远远低于《消费者报告》评选出的豪华轿车领域的冠军——雷克萨斯ES350的得分。好在消费者仍然忠于奔驰这个品牌，今年已经是S550上市的第7年了，但销量仍然十分强劲。

Mercedes-Benz S550

    With a base sticker price of $90,200, Mercedes's flagship sedan got dinged by a $1.70 cost per mile and below-average reliability. Its overall value score was only half the average, and well below Consumer Reports' leader in this segment, the Lexus ES350. Customers remain loyal to the Mercedes brand, however, and S sales remain strong even though the car is beginning its seventh year on the market.

保时捷911卡雷拉S

    德国跑车生产商保时捷（Porsche）很快就要被大众集团（Volkswagen）收入囊中了。保时捷跑车永远是马路上万众瞩目的焦点，在初始质量和残余价值上的得分往往也很高。但《消费者报告》的读者却反映，保时捷911卡雷拉（Carrera）的可靠性只能算是平均水平，而且它的每英里使用成本也高达1.53美元。即将上市的全新2013款911卡雷拉可能会拿出更漂亮的数据。但保时捷的买主似乎并不在乎使用成本。911卡雷拉起价为87,250美元，保时捷另外两款跑车Boxster和Cayman虽然售价更低，但二者的销量加在一起只勉强抵得上911卡雷拉的一半。

Porsche 911 Carrera S

    Soon to be gobbled up by Volkswagen, the German sports car maker dazzles on the road and usually scores high in initial quality and residual value. But Consumer Reports' readers graded the Porsche 911 Carrera only average in reliability, and its cost-per-mile penciled out at $1.53. An all-new 2013 911 may produce better numbers. Porsche buyers don't seem to mind, though. They buy twice as many 911s, starting at $87,250, as they do the automaker's less expensive Boxsters and Caymans combined.

雪佛兰考维特Z06

    雪佛兰考维特（Chevrolet Corvette）Z06的售价相对便宜，只有64,890美元，而且它还拥有魔鬼般的速度性能。它的价值得分超过了保时捷911，但仍然比平均分值低了25%。原因是它的可靠性一般，而且每英里使用成本高达1.18美元，远高于同领域的日产（Nissan）370Z跑车的0.8美元。预计于明年推出的下一代2014款考维特或许会为雪佛兰的当家车型拿到更高的名次。

Chevrolet Corvette Z06

    A relative bargain by comparison at $64,890, and a demon on the track, the Corvette outscored the Porsche but still finished with a value score about 25% below average. Blame it on mediocre reliability and a cost per mile of $1.18, far higher than the 80¢-per-mile Nissan 370Z that also competes in this space. Perhaps the arrival of the next-generation Corvette coming in model year 2014 will improve the standing of Chevy's halo car.

保时捷卡宴

    保时捷全系最受欢迎的车型就是卡宴（Cayenne）SUV了，不过它的可靠性还是把它的价值分数拉到同领域的后25%里。它的每英里使用成本也高达1.25美元。在《消费者报告》的成绩单上，宝马（BMW）、讴歌（Acura）、英菲尼迪（Infiniti）和雷克萨斯（Lexus）的SUV的价值分数都要比它高出很多——当然，它们谁都没有“保时捷”这个金字招牌。但是《消费者报告》没法把品牌价值也计算在内。

Porsche Cayenne

    The most popular Porsche of all is the Cayenne SUV, but its reliability rating consigns it to the bottom quartile. Its cost per mile is a stiff $1.25. Consumer Reports rates BMW, Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus SUVs far higher -- but of course none of them wear the Porsche badge. That's the kind of accessory Consumer Reports can't put a value on.

梅塞德斯-奔驰GL450

    奔驰的这款大型SUV是在美国阿拉巴马州生产的，不过它的价值得分并不比S级轿车高多少。它在路试中表现不佳，在可靠性中也排名靠后，总体价值得分还不到平均分值的一半。此外，它每英里使用费用高达1.36美元。或许奔驰公司应该改改那条把话说得太满的广告词了——“只做最好的”（The best or nothing），好给自己留下三分余地。

Mercedes-Benz GL450

    The big Mercedez SUV built in Alabama doesn't fare any better than the S-class. It performed poorly in road tests, ranks in the lower 50% in reliability, and scored less than half the average in overall value. Drivers pay $1.36 for every mile they travel. Perhaps Mercedes should reengineer its absolutist advertising tag line, "The best or nothing," in favor of something more moderate.

凯迪拉克Escalade

    凯迪拉克（Cadillac）Escalade经常被用来接送明星，晚上去夜店泡吧时开着它也是拉风无比，不过它在《消费者报告》上的价值排名却让人大跌眼镜。这款SUV的可靠性分数相当低，对于一款2007年就上市了的车型来说，几乎是不可想象的。而且它的路试表现也很差，每英里使用费用则高达1.41美元，甚至超过了保时捷卡宴和奔驰GL450，在豪华SUV领域排名垫底。这可能和它的车重不无关系。如果按重量来计算价值，或许这个重达5,700磅的庞然大物会拿到更靠前的排名。

    译者：朴成奎

Cadillac Escalade

    The vehicle of choice for celebrity chauffeuring and after-hours clubbing took a beating in Consumer Reports' ranking. A dismal reliability rating -- surprising for a model that has been in production since the 2007 model year -- a poor road test score, and a surprisingly high $1.41 per mile operating cost leave it in last place behind the Cayenne and the GL450 in the luxury SUV category. At 5,700 pounds, the `Sclade might have fared better if its value were calculated on a per-pound basis.