Professional Documents
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2020-03-01 Consumer Reports-Compressed PDF
2020-03-01 Consumer Reports-Compressed PDF
*Between 7/1/18 and 9/30/18, the average savings off MSRP presented by TrueCar Certified Dealers participating in the Consumer Reports Build & Buy Car
Buying Service, based on users who received in-stock price offers and who TrueCar identified as purchasing a new vehicle of the same make and model as one
of the in-stock price offers from a Certified Dealer as of 10/31/18, was $3,016. Your actual savings may vary based on multiple factors, including the vehicle you
select, region, dealer, and applicable vehicle-specific manufacturer incentives, which are subject to change. The MSRP is determined by the manufacturer and
might not reflect the price at which vehicles are generally sold in the dealer’s trade area as not all vehicles are sold at MSRP. Each dealer sets its own pricing.
CRM03BBN
CAR SAFETY SYSTEMS WHOLE WHEAT. SOBA. MARCH MADNESS E-SCAMS
THE TRUTH ABOUT LEGUME NOODLES. HOW TO SPOT
REPAIR COSTS WHICH ARE HEALTHIEST? AND AVOID THEM
TRUSTED RATINGS: Refrigerators, TV Antennas, Stain Removers, Air Purifiers, Robovacs, Dishwashers
MARCH 2020
A SAFETY GUIDE
TO LEAFY GREENS
What you need to know to
protect yourself and why
“TRIPLE WASHED” isn’t risk-free
J U N E 1 , 2018 - MAY 31 , 2019 Kevin Chroninger • Dan & Terry Church • Jeffrey Mr. Richard J. Omlor & Dr. Elizabeth A. Hardy •
Clode & Dorothy Clode • Sharon Coats & Richard Bonna L. Oyer • Peter & Mary Papasifakis •
Blankenbecler • Theodore Cohn • Kay Collins • Bertram Parker • Rex M. Patterson • Thomas A.
$100,000+ Ann & Jac Connelly • Ms. Deborah Cowan • Lisa & Michele Kurucz Peel • John R. & Elizabeth G.
Cribari & Raymond Infarinato • Mr. James Crouch • Peters • Carolyn Phelps • Shona A. Pinnock • Lisa
The California Endowment • Craig Newmark
Ms. Sherry L. Cyza • Marilyn Denham • Powell • Harry & Liz Pritchard • Jane Pyenson •
Philanthropies • Energy Foundation • Fidelity
Ms. Susan Denny & Mr. Christian Nolen • Alan Maria & Fred Ragucci • Thomas Ray • Mr. & Mrs.
Charitable • Ford Foundation • Heising-Simons
& Ida Martha Dimick • Eugene Dixon • Drexler Mark J. Reicher • Diane M. Ridley-White • John B.
Foundation • The William & Flora Hewlett
Estate Fund • Laura A. Edlin • Tracey Edwards & Robertson, Jr., M.D. & Paula J. Allred •
Foundation • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation •
Morgan P. Hoff • Joseph & Barbara Ellis • Jack A. Mike Rosenzweig • Sue Ross • The Robert P.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation • Anonymous (3)
& Roberta M. Elmore • Diane & Ralph Engel • Rotella Foundation • Herbert & Ellen Rotfeld •
Sergey Falko • Dr. Coralie Farlee • Mr. William Robb Rough • Eric Rudin • James J. Saacks •
$25,000 to $99,999 Fokes • Cameron Fosterling & Ernie Schneps • Dr. Martin Sands • George A. Sawyer • Dr. Joel
John Fracasso • Kip & Mary Freeman • Bernie Schrank & Jackie Schrank • Mary Schroth •
Health Access Foundation • John S. & James L.
Friedberg • Dr. Ganeshan & Ms. Aiyer • Paula Robert & Linnea Schulz • Teresa & Dan Schwartz •
Knight Foundation • Richard D. Lee & Vera M.
Gehr • J.B. Geisel-Sorrell • Alan W. George • Thomas M. Scott • Curtis L. Scribner • Juliet Sears
Lee Foundation, Gerald A. Sherwin, Trustee •
Randy Glick • Sheila, Dave & Sherry Gold LeDorze • Paul Sears • Rod Seibert • George
Mozilla Foundation • Robert Volenski • Nicholas
Foundation • Byron T. Goodwin • Isis Foundation • & Olivia Sheckelton • Brent Sieling & Megan
Whyte & Ann Whyte • Anonymous
Mr. & Mrs. Keith A. Gould • David & Julia Schliesman • Harold & Dr. Eileen Rice Sirkin • Dr. &
Grambort • Nancy Grant • Mr. Alan L. Graves •
Mrs. Brent D. Slife • Donald G. Smith, Jr. •
$10,000 to $24,999 Paula Greeno • Chuck Grier • Ms. Kathleen
Dorothy Davis Smith • Karen & Victor Smith •
Dr. Bruce & Yoko Allen • David & Marian Rocker • Griffin • Eric & Melissa Haas Charitable Fund •
Terry & Ginger Smith • Robert A. Solomon •
Terri & Tom Davis • Mr. Morton Friedlander • Phyllis Jim & Lois Hanko • Malloy T. Harris Jr. • Marion
Miriam & Chris Sperber • Paul K. Stangas • Stuart
M. Gardner • David A. & Janet Rice • Arthur & O. Harris • Mel A. Hawthorne • Shirley & Barnett
Starkweather • Mr. & Mrs. R. Steiner • Dick &
Charlotte Zitrin Foundation • Anonymous (12) Helzberg Jr. Donor Advisory Fund of the Jewish
Penny Stevens • Max Stolz, Jr. • Mr. & Mrs. Gerald
Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City •
Sullivan • Ms. Sylvia Taborelli • Peter J. Tanous •
Robert & Jane Hite • Donna & Pete Hollinger •
$5,000 to $9,999 Frederick B. Howard • Doug Huestis • John
Shar Taylor • Marta L. Tellado • Mark Teubner •
Gerald J. Thain • Pamela Tomlin • Dr. Caroline
Robert G. Andrews • Barak Berkowitz Family • Huysmans • John & Debra Iannucci • Edwin I.
Urvater • John L. Voellmicke • Dick & Marcia
Stephen H. Colitz • Nancy Blachman • Donald Ichiriu • Carol Izumi • George W. Jackson Jr. •
Volpert • Robert & Linda Wadalavage •
Ellis & Sherry Chang • Anki & Larry Gelb • Robert Thomas E. Jacobs • Peggy Japko • Jarosewycz
Family Gift Fund • Col. Harold E. Jensen (Ret.) • Edward Wallace • Doris & Clark Warden •
C. Greenberg • George & Eleanor Kambouris •
David & Barbara Johnson • Deane & Ottie Sanford Waxer • Eric Wayne • Peggy & Lawrence
Larry Lehrner & Shelley Berkley • Dr. Cherri M.
Johnson • Michael Jones & Deborah Zoller • West • James White • Todd S. Wilkinson, M.D. •
Pancake • Jan Sobieraj • Dr. P. R. Sundaresan •
Philip & Miranda Kaiser • Renee & David Kaplan • David & Terri Williams • Ronald Winters • Dr.
Richard A. Swingle • Stephen Weinroth •
Francine & Richard Kauffunger • Marlyn L. & Mrs. Robert L. Wong • Woods & Gil Family
Anonymous (10)
Kefauver • Margot & Bob Keith • John G. Kiefer • Foundation • Jeanne Wootters • Philip J. &
James Dan Knifong, Sr. & Margaret Porter • Lorin Carolyn V. Wyatt • David & Gwen Wysocki • Ty
$1,000 to $4,999 Krusberg • Phyllis Jo Kubey • Neil & Marion M. & Jackie Yun • Rick T. Zawadski • Richard Zurek •
Robert H. Adkins • Mark & Carolyn Ain • Russell Kyde • Daniel J. LaFond • Dr. Margaret S. Lanard Anonymous (465)
Albert • Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Margaret Alderson • & Dr. Bruce J. Lanard • Rick & Jo Landry • Irene
Rebecca Allen • Eric Allman & Kirk McKusick • E. Leech • David Leiwant & Aurora DeGasperi • New Charitable Gift Annuitants
John Alter • Edward R. Amrick • Rima & Michael Mr. Leonard Len • Andrew J. Ley • Daniel Lindsay
Apple • Robert Apsler • Marcia Aronoff • James & Kelcie Gosling • Martha & Daniel Lips • The Lo James D. & Gale Beck • Lawrence Kunz • Jerry
Avedikian • The Roberta C. Baade & George F. Charitable Fund • Annette LoVoi & Jim Marston • Sass • Gayle Schumacher • Dr. Marian R. Stuart •
Yee Charitable Fund • Patricia & Owen Baynham • E. D. Lynch • Stewart Macaulay • P.A. Macholl • John & Beverly Zavodni • Anonymous (2)
Susan & Jon Beyman • Mr. & Mrs. William Blair • Robert M. Mains • Dr. Henri Manasse & Arlynn
Clara R. Bleak • Richard Boettcher • Helen Citron Manasse • John & Susi Manley • Mr. & Mrs.
New Legacy Society Members
Boodman • Carl Bowden • Robert Brager & Joseph A. Mark • Mary L. Marlow • John Martin •
Judith Golding • Elaine Amacker Bridges • Carl E. Masterson • Mary Ellen Maun • Karl Aldinger • Raemond & Patricia Birnbaum •
Stephen & Susan Brobeck • Jill & Christopher Anne Maura • Liam McCormack & Katherine Buster Boatman • George & Anne Chamberlain •
Brooks • Jay & Trish Brudz • Mr. & Mrs. Evan Buck • Sroczynski • Thomas Michalski • Doris & Joe John Daly • Roger Drexler • Linda R. Ferrill •
Clifton J. Burnett • W. Ford Calhoun, Ph.D. • Mr. Millard • Raymond Miller • Keith Moe • Dan & Barbara J. Fitzgerald • Vaughn Hiller • Kay
& Mrs. Robert Calman • Guy Cameron • John & Diane Moye • Thomas & Joan Mullin • Carolyn M. Holloway • Richard Kommarek • D. Maxwell •
Mary Camp Foundation • Dr. Fairfid M. Caudle • Murphey • Mr. Lee Nadelman • Russell G. Noles • Joseph E. Nordsieck & Melanie A. Ringer • Sharon
James & Kathleen Cavanaugh • Gordon Chaffee Joseph E. Nordsieck & Melanie A. Ringer • L. Olson • Alicia Paladin • Larry Sternaman •
& Nancy Ellen Kedzierski • Keith & Elaine Christian • Sudhir & Manasi Oak • Frans & Helen Officer • Lawrence Verschuur • Anonymous (19)
CRM03TYS
MARCH 2020, VOL. 85 NO. 3
Contents
PRODUCTS RATED
IN THIS ISSUE
REFRIGERATORS
P. 10
The Menace
in Your Lettuce ROBOTIC VACUUMS
Learn how to keep P. 10
getting the health
benefits of leafy greens
while taking precautions
against bad bacteria. P. 24
AIR PURIFIERS
P. 13
24 Leafy Greens
Safety Guide
Salad greens are one of the
most common culprits in
E. coli outbreaks—and triple-
washing is not a guarantee of
protection. Our investigation STAIN REMOVERS
PHOTO, COVER: FOOD ST YLING: JAMIE KIMM
identifies the core causes of 38 Clause for Concern 46 End Your WiFi Woes P. 17
the problems, and we offer Denying consumers the right Slow connections can be
ways to help you stay safe. to sue is now rampant among maddening. Our experts help
companies. These forced you bring your WiFi up to
arbitration clauses deprive speed and determine whether
consumers of options and one of the new mesh options is
compromise the quality of best for your home.
products. Here’s what to watch RATINGS
for—and how to fight back.
MERCEDES-BENZ GLS
P. 59
IN EVERY ISSUE
Bumper Cars
Damage to a car’s front 6 From the President:
safety sensors can cause Suspicious of Your Salad?
steep repair costs. CR is working hard to improve
food safety inspections for
leafy green production.
7 Building a
Better World, Together
We’re fighting against
robocalls, fake online reviews,
and digital privacy threats.
8 Your Feedback
Readers’ comments about
P. 54 our recent content.
18 Recalls
62 Index
63 Selling It
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS 13 CR Insights Goofs and gaffes.
Stain removers that really
10 What We’re work, well-made eyeglasses
Testing in Our Labs … ROAD REPORT
for less, and how to pick a
Affordable French-door healthy alterna-pasta. Plus:
refrigerators, microwaves, car Is the Molekule air purifier
53 Ahead of the Curve
batteries, and more. worth $800? Auto ratings, news, and advice.
RATIN GS RATINGS
ABOUT CONSUMER REPORTS products we rate. We don’t receive fees from these programs. For more information, go to SellingIt@cro.consumer.org.
Consumer Reports is an inde- accept paid advertising. We maintain a strict separation CR.org/about. See page 63 for more details.
pendent, nonprofit organization In addition to our rigorous between our commercial opera- HOW TO REACH US ACCOUNT INFORMATION
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by side with consumers to create ism, and consumer advocacy, we operations. Our testing and edito- Reports, 101 Truman Ave., or call 800-333-0663.
a safe, fair, and transparent mar- work with other organizations, rial teams decide which products Yonkers, NY 10703, See page 5 for more details.
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and services in our labs each and philanthropic partners. We parties do not dictate or control TO SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR We rate products using
year and survey hundreds of also license our content and data, these decisions. Lastly, these Go to CR.org/lettertoeditor. these symbols:
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their experiences with products partners to offer shopping and constitute CR’s endorsement of Go to CR.org/tips. 1
0 POOR 20 FAIR 3
0 GOOD
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Your Salad?
Associate Design Director Mike Smith
Art Directors Ewelina Mrowiec, Michael Solita
Photo Editors Lacey Browne, Emilie Harjes, Karen Shinbaum
on greens. We won’t be able to solve these problems Chief Research Officer Kristen Purcell
overnight, but we can certainly do better than the status Consumer Engagement Testing Charu Ahuja, Director; Samuel Chapman,
Linda Greene, Dana Keester
quo. You can count on CR to keep you informed while we Statistics & Data Science Michael Saccucci, Director; Andrew Cohen, Kristen
push for the changes to keep you safe and confident about Dorrell, Dina Haner, Keith Newsom-Stewart
what’s in your salad bowl. Survey Research Karen Jaffe, Simon Slater, Associate Directors; Dave Gopoian,
Kendra Johnson, Debra Kalensky, Martin Lachter, Jane Manweiler, John McCowen,
Adam Troy, Tess Yanisch
Consumer Insight Monica Liriano, Associate Director; Joey Edwards, Selina Tedesco,
Teneisha Thomas, Frank Yang
Member Support Sue Melfi, Director; Donna Murianka
Marketing Dawn Nelson, Senior Director; Patricia McSorley, Newsstand
Marta L. Tellado,
Procurement Operations Steven Schiavone, Associate Director
President and CEO
PHOTO: MEL ANIE DUNEA
in the U.S. keep going up and how to save money. Here, YOUR ARTICLE brought me
back to the summer when
readers speak up about their own high-cost experiences I couldn’t afford my teenage
son’s EpiPen because it had
and solutions. To add your voice, go to CR.org/rx0320. unexpectedly gone up in
price. So we decided to stick
with our near-expired EpiPen.
My son had never needed to
YOUR ARTICLE on Rx drug dollars to members of Congress. the rest of the supply chain). use it, so we thought waiting
prices should anger everyone. And the worst part is that we, Put people in office (or take them for the price to go down was
How can we accept that people the American people, allow out) based on their commitments a low-risk option. But that
in a wealthy country such as this to happen. Until we vote in to regulating an out-of- same summer he had a severe
ours can’t afford life-saving legislators who care more about control healthcare industry. anaphylactic reaction when I
medications? And while much the interests of the American —Constance Bevitt, wasn’t home. He decided not
anger is directed at drug people than their own personal Silver Spring, MD to use the EpiPen because its
companies, pharmacy benefit interests, nothing will change. expiration date had passed.
managers, and insurance —David Eudowe, Glastonbury, CT I AM AMAZED at the lack of (Though the expiration
companies, the real anger should attention paid to the role of TV date had been extended, we
be directed at Congress. It has I WAS SURPRISED that your drug advertising in the cost hadn’t labeled the package
the power to pass legislation advice for lowering drug costs of prescription drugs. I can’t accordingly.) Instead, my son
to end this situation. But its didn’t include the most obvious: watch TV without seeing an ad called 911. Paramedics injected
interests lie in keeping profits Vote. Make drug costs and for an expensive drug. Drug him with several medications.
high for all those in the drug commitments to lower them companies must pay millions Thank God he was okay!
chain in order to keep those a requirement for whomever for this incessant direct-to- —TJ Ramirez, Jackson Heights, NY
entities donating millions of you vote for (regardless of consumer advertising (not
party affiliation). Analyze the allowed in virtually every other YOUR ARTICLE explaining
ICONS: ELIAS STEIN
donations made to each and country in the world). This the high cost of drugs in the
Go to every congressional member. must be a huge factor in the U.S. was both informative
CR.org/lettertoeditor Non-incumbents should be exorbitant cost of newer drugs. and timely. As a physician
to share your comments
made to document the funds —Christopher Balkany, who has practiced dermatol-
WRITE for publication.
they get from Big Pharma (and Saint Cloud, MN ogy, I’m struck by how
Robotic Vacuums
WE TESTED: 31 models Perfect Picker-Upper Excellent Carpet Cleaner WiFi for Less
WE TEST FOR: How well a Eufy 11S (no WiFi) iRobot Roomba e5 Ecovacs Deebot 500
vacuum picks up sand from $220 $330 $190
bare floors, cereal from
carpets, and more. We
also test for digital security
and digital privacy.
Ask Our Experts SOME SMART WIFI-ENABLED vacuums collect more than just
dust—they record your home’s floor plan and your vacuuming
habits, sending the data back to the manufacturer. In general,
I’ve heard that you need to consent to this data collection when you first
ILLUSTRATION: SERGE BLOCH
Over-the-Range Microwaves
WE TESTED: 56 models Superior Heating Most Zap for Your Buck Has a Convection Mode
WE TEST FOR: Heating and Whirlpool WMH53521H GEJVM3160RFSS Frigidaire Professional
defrosting evenness, speed $470 $250 FPBM3077RF
of heating, usable capacity $595
in cubic feet, microwaving
noise, and more.
Car Batteries
WE TESTED: 13 Group 65 models Best Overall Good for Cold Climates Excellent Value
WE TEST FOR: Battery life Super Start Platinum DieHard Gold 50865 (North) EverStart Maxx-65S (South)
(how it endures repeated AGM 65PLT $140 $95
charge-and-discharge $190
cycles); how long it runs
a car if the charging system
fails; and more.
IN T HE K NO W
3 BETTER
CAN YOU REALLY MODELS FROM
OUR TESTS
CLEAR THE AIR?
Molekule Air
$800
0 Alen
!
BreatheSmart
Classic $650
YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN online counter measured the change reduction, but the Molekule OVERALL
ads for the Molekule Air: a in air-particle concentration for also touts photoelectrochemical 72 SCORE
sleek air purifier that claims to 15 minutes at the highest speed oxidation (PECO) technology
destroy harmful molds, viruses, and again at a lower speed. to oxidize and break down gas-
bacteria, and gaseous chemicals The Molekule almost flunked eous pollutants. “Theoretically,
lurking in your home’s air—for our test, with a Fair rating for PECO could work,” says James
a hefty $800. To see whether smoke and dust removal at high Dickerson, CR’s chief scientific
it’s worth your money, we ran it speed and a Poor—the lowest officer. “But our tests show
ILLUSTRATIONS: RODRIGO DAMATI
through all the same tests we score possible—at low speed. that the Molekule Air is not
give other air purifiers. It’s the second-lowest-scoring proficient at catching large
First, we put the Molekule in air purifier of the 50 we tested. airborne particles.”
a sealed chamber injected with Based on our lab’s calculated We shared our methodology 0 Honeywell
!
particles as small as 0.1 micron rate at which it can process air, and findings with Molekule. 50250 $200
and up to 1 micron—a range that the Molekule can handle only The company responded that CR
OVERALL
includes dust mite allergens, about 100 square feet—not the did a very limited assessment 69 SCORE
cat allergens, smog, smoke, and 600 it claims—and was noisy. of the product and did not
atmospheric dust. A particle CR tests only for particle evaluate its full capabilities.
For more air purifier ratings, All-Access and Digital members can go to CR.org/air0320. MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 13
CRInsights
DO MOR E W I T H …
MARCH
SELF- IS THE
BEST TIME
CLEANING TO BUY …
3- to
5-hour
cycle VACUUMS
Oven will
heat up
to 850° F After oven
cools down:
Wipe out ash
MANY NEW RANGES have a self- the mess at 425° F for an hour. of these, soil loosened and STRING
cleaning feature that promises Most models at the top of our wiped off the oven floor but TRIMMERS
to de-crud itself by cranking ratings, such as the smoothtop still clung to the other surfaces.
the heat—as high as 850° F—to Samsung above, score Very When shopping, look for high-
burn off any caked-on food Good or Excellent in our test. temperature self-clean cycles,
89 88 87 86 86 85 84 84 84 84 83 82 82 82 82 81 80
OVER ALL
SATISFACTION
previous 24 months
and bought frames and
Shopko Eyecare Center
39dollarglasses.com
Kaiser Permanente
eyebuydirect.com
in February 2020.)
zennioptical.com
Costco Optical
Target Optical
Warby Parker
Vision Source
Sears Optical
BJ’s Optical
QUALIT Y
4
0 4
0 3
0 3
0 5
0 4
0 4
0 4
0 4
0 3
0 3
0 4
0 3
0 3
0 4
0 4
0 3
0
PRICE
5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 1
0 4
0 1
0 2
0 2
0 5
0 3
0 1
0 4
0 3
0 1
0 1
0 2
0
To see our survey results for all 34 retailers, Digital and All-Access members can go to CR.org/glasses0320.
For more ratings of mechanic shops, All-Access and Digital members can go to CR.org/carrepair0320. MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 15
CRInsights
Pasta is a long-standing
staple of the American
diet: Thomas Jefferson
brought a pasta maker W HOL E - W HE AT LEGUME OR BEAN
back from France to CARBOHYDRATES 42 g CARBOHYDRATES 32-36 g
16 CR.ORG MARCH 2020 *Nutrition counts are based on 2 ounces of dry pasta (which translates to about a cup of cooked, depending on the shape).
BEST FOR HO W T O CL E A N
$40 OR LESS P R A C T I C A L LY
A N Y T HING… ®
INDOOR TV
ANTENNAS FABRIC STAINS
As consumers try to
trim their cable TV
bills, antennas are
making a comeback.
Our tests of 10 indoor
HDTV antennas in
urban and suburban SPRAY-ON STAIN REMOVERS, before washing and let it sit, Only one spray-on stain
homes found that which are a staple of many that alone can remove stains.” remover from our tests got
most were able to home laundry rooms, are To find out which method rid of stains better than the
receive dozens of typically made with ingredients works best to pretreat stains, we laundry detergents: OxiClean
free over-the-air such as surfactants, enzymes, compared the performance of Max Force. (Others, such as
channels. The exact and polymers—also often found six popular prewash spray-on Shout Triple-Acting Spray, were
number of channels in your everyday laundry stain removers from Shout, very good and cost less but did
you’ll get depends detergent bottle. So what’s the Spray ’n Wash, and OxiClean not perform well enough to
on location, but difference between the two? with two of our top-performing be recommended.) But de Paz
these budget-friendly “Prewash stain removers are laundry detergents from Tide notes that the Tide and Persil
picks can give concentrated and designed and Persil (shown below). We detergents came close enough
you lots of stations to go directly on the stains,” spritzed and dabbed each one to the cleaning power of the
for little money. says CR chemist Rico de Paz. onto a variety of tough stains, OxiClean Max Force spray that
“Detergents are made to mix including grass and chocolate. you could use them to pretreat
Mohu ReLeaf $40 with lots of water to clean, Before washing, we let the stains and wash laundry while
(shown above) which dilutes their stain- pretreated fabric sit for an equal paying less per ounce. Still, you
removing power. But if you amount of time (5 minutes in may prefer the, uh, on-the-spot
78%
dab a detergent onto the stain one test, overnight in another). convenience of using the spray.
PERCENTAGE OF
STATIONS RECEIVED
PRETREATING WASHING
1byone Digital
Amplified
Indoor HD $28
74%
PERCENTAGE OF
STATIONS RECEIVED
0 OxiClean Max
! Shout Triple- 0 Tide Plus Ultra
! 0 Persil ProClean
!
Force Spray $0.36 Acting Spray $0.11 Stain Release $0.21 Stain Fighter $0.22
Naxa NAA-308 $15
OVERALL OVERALL OVERALL OVERALL
66% SCORE 86 SCORE
77 SCORE 84 SCORE 84
PERCENTAGE OF BLOOD 0
5 BLOOD 0
5 BLOOD 4
0 BLOOD 4
0
STATIONS RECEIVED BODY OIL 0
5 BODY OIL 0
5 BODY OIL 5
0 BODY OIL 5
0
CHOCOLATE 4
0 CHOCOLATE 3
0 CHOCOLATE 0
5 CHOCOLATE 0
5
COFFEE 3
0 COFFEE 3
0 COFFEE 3
0 COFFEE 3
0
Percentage of stations received
is the total number of stations
DIRT 0
5 DIRT 0
4 DIRT 0
5 DIRT 0
5
that a particular antenna GRASS 0
5 GRASS 5
0 GRASS 4
0 GRASS 4
0
was able to receive by all the
testers, divided by the total SALAD DRESSING 5
0 SALAD DRESSING 4
0 SALAD DRESSING 5
0 SALAD DRESSING 5
0
number of stations that were
available at the location where Prices listed above are comparative: per ounce for stain removers and per load for detergents.
each of the testers lived.
Note: We rate detergents and spray-on stain removers according to different test protocols. Detergent ratings reflect performance when
used in a washing machine as a general detergent; spray-on stain remover ratings reflect performance of pretreating a variety of specific stains.
TO STAY INFORMED ABOUT RECALLS FOR YOUR VEHICLES, READERS WITH
RECALLS MEMBERSHIP CAN USE OUR FREE CAR RECALL TRACKER AT CR.ORG/MORE.
$463
PRODUCT
UPDATE
Energy Star Dishwasher
$1,795
Hand-Washing
WATER USE ENERGY USE THE LATEST RATINGS FROM OUR LABS
*Over 12 years. Source: Energy Star.
6 Surprising
Reasons to Buy
a New Dishwasher
The latest models cost
less to run and offer more
time-saving features and
conveniences than those
sold less than a decade ago.
by Perry Santanachote
0
84 OVERALL
SCORE
EVEN IF YOU don’t need a new Note that one of the ways manufacturers and allow you to use a smartphone app
dishwasher, you might find yourself have hushed their machines is by to check on a wash cycle’s progress.
shopping for one after learning how replacing noisy food grinders with You can also download software
much these kitchen workhorses have filters, which need to be cleaned from updates to enhance a machine’s
evolved over the past decade or so. time to time for best results. performance, or special cleaning
For starters, today’s dishwashers cycles not already programmed into
are less expensive to run than older 3. They Have More Muscle the machine. Certain dishwashers will
models. They can also come equipped New high-end models may have special alert your phone when the rinse aid is
with features, such as targeted water cleaning zones with targeted jets of low or it’s time to buy detergent.
jets and internet connectivity, that water to scour baked-on foods. These Some of these high-tech bells and
make them even more convenient. can reduce the need to soak and scrub whistles can be quite useful. For
Consider the following dishwasher casserole dishes, lasagna pans, and example, there are connected models
advancements to help you to determine other hard-to-clean messes by hand. that notify their owners when they
whether it’s time for an upgrade. “Targeted spray jets can improve detect malfunctions or leaks. They
cleaning,” Ciufo says, explaining that can also run diagnostics and report
1. They Cost Less to Run they blast away baked-on food better a problem, even indicating which
Dishwashers made before 1994 than the Normal cycle alone in CR’s hardware is broken, so the repair
were water guzzlers, using more than tests. To take full advantage of this service brings the right parts.
10 gallons per load. Those sold today feature, you’ll need to make sure that
require 5 gallons or less. In fact, the you load soiled pots and pans in the 6. They Save Even More Time
latest models use about 15 percent less proper place on the rack. Today’s dishwashers can do more and
electricity and 20 percent less water save more time than many models
than those that were sold as recently as 4. They Have New Drying Tech made just a decade ago.
2013, when the newest federal efficiency The No. 1 consumer complaint about While you need to scrape large
standards went into effect. dishwashers is that they leave dishes pieces of food off plates before loading,
The trade-off for this efficiency is wet, so manufacturers have been prerinsing is no longer required
that cycle times are longer: While older developing new ways to get loads good and can even reduce a dishwasher’s
models could clean a load in about an and dry. For instance, the door of cleaning effectiveness. Most machines
hour, new dishwashers can take up to certain machines now automatically sold over the past six or seven years
3 hours to complete a cycle. Many newer opens a few inches at the end of the have a soil sensor that determines
models offer shorter cycles for less cycle. This allows water vapor to travel how much water and how long a cycle
intensive cleaning. “A Quick Wash cycle from the hot, wet environment of the are needed to get the dishes clean.
may be all you need when, say, washing dishwasher to the cooler, drier air of “Prerinsing tricks the dishwasher into
appetizer plates to be used as dessert the kitchen, which helps to remove thinking the dishes are cleaner than
plates during the same meal,” says test moisture from the dishes. they are,” Ciufo says. “This causes
engineer Larry Ciufo, who oversees The newest technology, currently it to cut the cycle short, which may
Consumer Reports’ dishwasher tests. available on very few models, uses a leave your dishes dirty.” In addition
mineral-based drying agent to absorb to saving time, you’ll use less water by
Plates, serving
bowls, and other
large items go in
the bottom rack.
UNLOADING TIP
Platters, dishwasher-
safe cutting boards, Pull out and empty
and other oversized the bottom rack
pieces should be first. Moving the top
placed toward the rack first can cause
sides and back, so water that might
they don’t block have collected on
water spray or the concave surfaces,
soap dispenser such as the bottom
door. Place items of a mug, to drip
with baked-on onto dishes below.
food facedown (Use a rinse aid to
and toward the prevent spotting and
spray arm. enhance drying.)
remaining time
flatware slots
Self-cleaning
satisfaction
Energy use
Adjustable
Adjustable
upper rack
Cycle time
Predicted
reliability
material
Washing
Displays
Interior
Drying
Owner
Ample
(min.)
Noise
tines
filter
WiFi
$499 AND UNDER
Bosch Ascenta Stainless steel
$
0 SHE3AR72UC Similar to
Bosch Ascenta SHX3AR75UC
88 $450 5
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 4
0 95 0 0 0
and plastic
Ikea Renlig IUD7070DS
$
0 [288921]
82 $380 5
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 3
0 115 0 Plastic
Whirlpool WDF520PADM
$
0 Similar to Whirlpool
WDF540PADM
81 $400 4
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 3
0 115 0 Plastic
$500 TO $999
Bosch Ascenta Stainless steel
$
0 SHX3AR75UC
88 $630 5
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 4
0 95 0 0 0
and plastic
Bosch 300 DLX Series
!
0 SHS863WD5N
84 $770 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 150 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
Bosch 100 Series Stainless steel
!
0 SHXM4AY55N
83 $675 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 150 0 0 0 0
and plastic
!
0 KitchenAid KDTM354DSS 82 $700 3
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 125 0 0 0 Stainless steel 0
$
0 Whirlpool WDF540PADM 81 $565 4
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 3
0 115 0 Plastic
remaining time
flatware slots
Self-cleaning
satisfaction
Energy use
Adjustable
Adjustable
upper rack
Cycle time
Predicted
reliability
material
Washing
Displays
Interior
Drying
Owner
Ample
(min.)
Noise
tines
filter
WiFi
$500 TO $999 Continued
LG LDT7808BM 71 $900 3
0 3
0 4
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 145 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel 0
LG LDF5678ST
Similar to LG LDT7808BM
71 $600 3
0 3
0 4
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 145 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel 0
LG LSDT9908ST 65 $900 3
0 3
0 4
0 3
0 5
0 4
0 130 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
LG LDP6797ST 64 $650 3
0 3
0 4
0 3
0 5
0 4
0 130 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
GE GDT655SSJSS 64 $825 3
0 2
0 5
0 2
0 5
0 4
0 155 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
GE GDT695SSJSS 64 $915 3
0 2
0 5
0 2
0 5
0 4
0 155 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
$1 ,000 AND UP
!
0 Thermador DWHD660WFP 83 $1,800 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 155 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel 0
Bosch Benchmark
!
0 SHX89PW55N
83 $1,640 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 155 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel
Bosch Benchmark
!
0 SHX88PZ55N
82 $1,600 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 150 0 0 0 0 Stainless steel 0
All-Access and Digital members can find the latest, complete ratings at CR.org/dishwashers.
HOW WE TEST: Washing is assessed the machine and heat the water. Noise satisfaction. Predicted reliability the dishwasher they bought. In cases
by running the normal cycle to clean is judged during fill, wash, and drain. estimates the likelihood that newly where we have insufficient survey data
a full load of dishes with baked-on Cycle time is based on cleaning a full purchased models from a given brand to provide a brand-level rating, indicated
food. Drying judges how thoroughly load with the high-temperature option will develop problems or break within −
by a gray dash ( ), we assume the model
a model dries plastic items, the most selected (if available). Overall Score the first five years. Owner satisfaction has average reliability and satisfaction.
stubborn in any load. Energy use is combines test results with survey reflects the proportion of CR members
based on the electricity required to run data for predicted reliability and owner who are extremely likely to recommend
1
0 2
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 0
! 0
$ MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 23
POOR EXCELLENT RECOMMENDED CR BEST BUY
The Risks of Romaine
Between 2006 and 2019,
romaine and other leafy
greens were responsible
for at least 46 multistate
E. coli outbreaks.
This page: romaine; facing
page: butter lettuce.
LEAFY GREENS SAFET Y GUIDE
W
and five people from four states died.
Then, right before Thanksgiving
that same year, supermarkets and
restaurants pulled romaine from their
shelves and menus after federal officials
announced yet another E. coli outbreak.
called Shiga toxin. Graham, who was 240 people across 37 states in the U.S. Some research shows that greens cause
72 and had been in excellent health, that spring who government officials say more cases of food poisoning than any
had developed a form of kidney failure became sick from tainted romaine. It other food, including beef.
called hemolytic uremic syndrome—a was the largest national E. coli O157:H7 The constant drumbeat of romaine-
side effect that occurs in 5 to 10 percent outbreak in more than 20 years: Almost related E. coli outbreaks has made
of people who contract O157:H7. half of those affected were hospitalized, Americans very worried about
SEEDED
VEGETABLES
14.0% 11.6%
BEEF
13.2% 6.6%
DAIRY
CHICKEN FRUITS
5.1%
VEGETABLE OTHER OTHER
ROW CROPS FOODS FRUITS 5.1% VEGETABLE FOODS
ROW CROPS
OTHER
FOODS
11.8% 6.4%
SPROUTS TURKEY
VEGETABLE 4.1%
ROW 4.1%
OTHER VEGETABLE
DAIRY CROPS FOODS CHICKEN SEAFOOD ROW CROPS
ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE TOM AGENCY Due to rounding, not all percentages add up to 100.
SPECIAL REPORT
eating lettuce. In a 2019 nationally sheer volume we’re consuming. The discourage people from eating them.
representative Consumer Reports survey leafy greens industry ships about But we can’t ignore the fact that leafy
of 1,003 Americans, 52 percent admitted 130 million servings per day all year greens are potentially risky, perhaps
being concerned about getting sick from long—enough to supply a daily salad fix one of the riskiest foods.”
leafy greens—more than those who are to nearly 40 percent of Americans. And But, he says, we need answers on
worried about poisonings from beef, almost a quarter of the greens being what’s happening with greens sooner
chicken, or eggs. Sales of romaine, which consumed are romaine lettuce. rather than later. “More needs to be
was until recently the most popular Perhaps most important: Salad done to determine the exact sources
lettuce in the U.S., are down in the wake greens are almost always eaten raw, of contamination with dangerous
of the 2018 outbreaks, dropping about unlike burgers, eggs, flour, and many bacteria,” he says. “Once that’s done,
$98 million to $465 million from their other foods that can be contaminated the FDA must set strict requirements
$563 million peak in 2017, according to with pathogens but are usually cooked for growers and processors, which will
data from market research firm Nielsen. enough to kill any bacteria. “You can help prevent people from getting sick.”
(Iceberg has regained the No. 1 spot.) destroy E. coli and other bacteria with While the odds that you’ll get sick from
Meanwhile, lettuce growers and the FDA enough heat, but few people are going eating any single salad are low, Rogers
have been trying to figure out where— to cook their lettuce,” says James says, they’re real. “When you hear
from farm to fork—the potentially deadly about 100 or 200 people contracting a
bacteria are finding their way into and foodborne illness, it may not sound like
onto lettuce leaves. that many, but for every case of food
Frank Yiannas, deputy commissioner poisoning that’s reported, there are
for food policy and response at the FDA “Leafy greens many, many more cases that never get
and the agency’s top food official, told reported.” In fact, according to the CDC,
CR: “FDA has been working tirelessly
are potentially for every reported case of E. coli O157:H7
to prevent these [outbreaks]. But we’re risky, perhaps infection, there are probably 26 that
going to work harder. It’s a high priority one of the have gone undocumented.
for the agency and a high priority riskiest foods.”
for me personally.”
In the meantime, for those who want to From Farm to Table
continue to get the health benefits of leafy JAMES E. ROGERS, PH.D., So how do bacteria get into the greens in
CR’S DIRECTOR OF
greens, there are safety guidelines that FOOD SAFET Y RESEARCH
the first place? To answer that, it helps
can help to mitigate the risk. (See “The AND TESTING to understand the critical water needs
Safest Ways to Eat Salad,” on page 37.) of greens and how they are sometimes
grown near livestock—both of which can
open a pathway to contamination. John
Salad Under Siege Boelts, a farmer in Yuma, owns one of
How did leafy greens—nutrient-packed E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food the 60-plus farms that cover a stretch of
foods recommended by doctors and safety research and testing at land from Yuma and the surrounding
nutritionists alike—become so risky? Consumer Reports. area to California’s Imperial Valley.
And why is romaine linked to so many “A food that doesn’t have a final That’s where the vast majority of leafy
of these outbreaks? consumer ‘kill step’ presents some greens on the market in the U.S. and
It comes down to the modern way we extra challenges [for] food safety,” Canada are harvested in winter. The
grow, harvest, and package our salad says Matthew Wise, Ph.D., deputy Yuma growing season begins with the
greens. “There are many opportunities chief of the CDC’s outbreak response planting of seeds in August in the hot,
along the continuum—from seed all the and prevention branch. “That’s arid desert. Over the next few months,
way to a consumer’s plate—for greens probably the main driver” among a the dusty brown fields become filled
to become contaminated,” says Ben number of factors that can cause an with rows of emerald green heads of
Chapman, Ph.D., a professor and food outbreak, he says. romaine, iceberg lettuce, vegetables, and
safety extension specialist at North “We face a real dilemma with fruits. Harvesting begins in late October.
Carolina State University in Raleigh. leafy greens, especially romaine Lettuce grows best when daytime
Part of the reason greens in lettuce,” says Rogers. “They’re packed temperatures are moderate and nights
particular are so problematic is the with nutrients, so we don’t want to [ CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 ]
Contaminated
Harmful bacteria can migrate to the
leaves at many points during the
growing and production cycle.
1.
As Greens Grow
A B
3.
At the A
Processing
Plant
A B C
Greens from many fields Factory workers who don’t wash Greens may be
and farms are mixed their hands, and equipment that cut or chopped,
together during processing, hasn’t been properly sanitized, which provides an
meaning that one bacteria- present threats. Greens may opportunity for
containing batch—or even be washed in a sanitizing bacteria to enter
a few leaves—can end solution, but if water is recycled, the leaves.
up contaminating many it increases the chances of —Trisha Calvo
packages of lettuce or greens. cross-contamination.
Illustrations, which are not to scale, represent the various ways greens may be grown, harvested, and processed. MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 31
SPECIAL REPORT
[ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 ] they defecate they deposit dangerous on contaminated irrigation water as
are cool, so as the weather in the Yuma bacteria into the soil and water around the most likely vector. “E. coli-tainted
region warms up, lettuce production them. That contaminated soil could manure can run off down hills and
shifts to California, moving in seasonal later end up mixed with dirt tracked by into rivers, contaminating water
increments throughout the Southern equipment, people, or animals onto a sources,” Warriner says.
Coast, Central Coast, Salinas Valley, and field full of leafy greens, or rain could An FDA investigation to identify the
parts of the Central Valley. Although the wash the bacteria into one of the open source of the contamination in the
soil and environment differ in all these irrigation canals that are so important spring 2018 outbreak that sickened
regions (including Yuma), one thing for lettuce-growing regions. Carolyn Graham never reached a
they have in common is that they don’t This route to food poisoning has been firm conclusion. But investigators
get much rain—and greens need a lot of known about for longer than a decade: strongly suspect an irrigation canal
water to grow (as much as 36 inches per In 2006, in an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that reportedly provided water to
acre), so all those lettuce fields require linked to spinach, federal officials said the 36 romaine fields involved in
irrigation. At farms around Yuma, such that a possible source was waste from the outbreak. They found the E. coli
as Boelts’, water is channeled from the feral pigs that got into growing fields. outbreak strain in three samples taken
nearby Colorado River through a system Because animals can contaminate from the canal, which is next to a CAFO
of irrigation canals. their valuable crops, farmers put a that houses more than 100,000 cows.
Once the greens grow to maturity, lot of effort into keeping them away. The source of the Thanksgiving 2018
they’re harvested, mostly by hand, “We pay people to stand by fields outbreak is also still a mystery, but the
Boelts says. Growers take samples of the and scare birds off,” Boelts says. “We FDA did find the strain of E. coli that
greens to check for harmful bacteria surround fields with 8-foot-tall fences, made people sick in sediment from a
(but they don’t check every leaf, which prohibiting animals from being on our water reservoir on one of the California
is why the bacteria sometimes slip farm. We’re doing everything science farms that grew contaminated lettuce.
through). Some greens are packed right says we should,” he says. It’s possible that droppings from wild
in the field, to be immediately cooled But contamination still occurs, and animals tainted the water, but there is
and shipped to stores. Greens that are experts and research say it’s because also a CAFO near the lettuce farm.
destined to be bagged or sold in plastic fields of leafy greens are sometimes “These findings suggest that to solve
containers—65 percent of Americans buy located next door to large cattle farms the lettuce problem, we really have to
packaged greens, according to market known as concentrated animal feeding solve the cow problem,” says Michael
research firm Mintel—are taken from operations (CAFOs). Hansen, Ph.D., senior scientist at
the field to processing plants, where “It’s because of the proximity of Consumer Reports. “Yet even though
tons of lettuce from multiple farms are cattle feedlots to fresh produce fields,” nearby CAFOs were thought to be the
mixed together. (Romaine is produced says Keith Warriner, Ph.D., a professor source of the bacteria that caused
to the tune of 1.5 million tons per year.) in the department of food science at the the outbreaks, under the law the FDA
There, the lettuce is usually washed in University of Guelph in Ontario who wasn’t allowed to access those feedlots,
water that contains chlorine or another has studied foodborne illness linked to and that dead-ended the investigation.”
sanitizer, then rinsed, dried, packaged, produce. “In the Salinas Valley, you’ll
and shipped to supermarkets and see cattle roaming the hills.” (Romaine
restaurants across the country. from the Salinas region was linked to The Riddle of Romaine
the outbreaks in fall 2018 and fall 2019.) The science doesn’t clearly show that
“With every outbreak, there’s a cow any leafy green is more or less risky than
Contamination From Cattle somewhere,” says attorney Marler, who another, but some researchers suspect
What any lettuce farmer will tell you is has tracked food-poisoning incidents that romaine may be particularly
that he or she fears the animals that live linked to greens for almost 20 years. vulnerable to contamination because its
around lettuce fields. That’s because It has also been suspected that leaves are so delicate.
E. coli O157:H7 and other strains of bacteria mix with the soil and become “It can get damaged easily, which
illness-causing bacteria live in the guts part of the dust, which can be carried makes it easier for the bacteria to get
of cattle and other animals, including by the wind from a CAFO and deposited into it,” Warriner says. In fact, when
sheep, deer, wild boar, and even birds. onto the greens as they grow in the the romaine involved in the Yuma
Although the E. coli bacteria don’t field. But experts and investigators outbreak was growing in the fields,
usually make the animals sick, when from the FDA and CDC have focused the weather turned cold and windy,
possibly injuring the leaves. Although Testing,” on page 36), washed and secrete juices that feed bacteria, if they
other greens have been involved in bagged lettuce isn’t any cleaner, are present, and the juices can collect in
outbreaks, Warriner says, “some, like bacteria-wise, than whole heads of the packages.
kale and spinach, are tougher, and lettuce. Furthermore, packages with
they’re high in natural antimicrobial “triple washed” (or a similar claim) on
compounds called thiocyanates. These the label contained amounts of bacteria A Need for More Inspections
greens were irrigated with the same similar to those in packages that direct The challenge, then, is figuring out
water as the romaine involved in the people to “wash before eating.” which steps will decrease the risk
Yuma Valley outbreak of 2018, but they Although the washing process for of contracting food poisoning, says
weren’t affected.” Also, while other packaged greens can remove up to Rogers. He says making salads safer
greens are susceptible for these same 99 percent of bacteria as it’s removing will require close attention by growers
reasons, they aren’t produced in the dirt and grit, food safety expert Chapman and regulators at every step of leafy
same quantity, so they’re less likely to says even the small amount that green production. “Unless something
cause a major outbreak. remains may make you sick. “Shiga- changes in the way greens are
Then there’s the math: We simply toxin-producing E. coli has a very low grown and processed, outbreaks will
eat a lot more romaine than other infectious dose—as little as 10 microscopic continue to happen,” he says.
dark leafy greens. “Romaine lettuce People within the industry are
remains beloved in the U.S.,” says Kara making ongoing efforts to improve the
Nielsen, a food trend expert in Oakland, situation. “We are doing everything we
Calif. Despite drop-offs in sales, it’s the can as an industry,” says Scott Horsfall,
56%
second most popular salad green. And CEO of the California Leafy Greens
it’s everywhere: Romaine serves as the Marketing Agreement. “It’s a very
base for Caesar salads and is often in important and efficient system for the
sandwiches, wraps, and burritos. And it’s most part, but we are very focused on
challenging to find a package of mixed eliminating the illnesses that do occur.”
greens that doesn’t contain romaine. OF A MER I C A NS R I NSE Upwards of 97 percent of leafy greens
T HE I R L E T T UC E BE F OR E
E AT I NG I T *, BU T ME R E growers in Arizona and California now
WAT E R DOE S L I T T L E
T O R E MO V E H A R MF UL
follow the standards set by the LGMA,
Problematic Packaging BACTERIA. which include mandatory inspections
Certain labels proclaim that the to ensure that they’re following
greens have been triple-washed. Will standards—though the results of these
that protect you from getting sick? audits are not public.
Not necessarily. LGMA standards put in place by the
When bacteria such as E. coli come cells are all it takes, according to some Arizona and California LGMAs after
into contact with any type of lettuce, estimates,” says Rogers. 2018 require that if water is going to
they’re almost impossible to wash And greens destined for packaging be used for irrigation in the 21 days
off completely, according to the CDC carry unique risks: “A bag or box of before harvest, it needs to be tested
and other researchers. That’s in part greens often contains leaves from many at least once and treated if bacteria
because disease-causing bacteria can different farms that have been mixed are found. The minimum buffer zone
get inside the leaves of the greens as together at the processing plant,” says between CAFOs and fields of leafy
they’re growing, when contaminated CR’s Hansen. And because the leaves greens was tripled, from 400 feet
water taken up by the roots is dispersed may be cut or shredded, the bacteria to 1,200 feet, based on research
throughout the plant. What’s more, have more entry points. “So if there indicating that E. coli could travel
surface bacteria can adhere stubbornly is even a small amount of bacteria- 600 feet, and fields in California must
in the wrinkles and grooves in the carrying lettuce in the batch, from just be at least a mile from larger CAFOs.
leaves. “The purpose of washing one farm, it can contaminate many, Some growers, like Boelts, say they’ve
greens—in the field or at a processing many packages of greens,” he says. In gone even further, ensuring that no
facility—is simply to remove dirt and fact, in the 2006 spinach outbreak, the irrigation water touches edible portions
grit, not bacteria,” says CR’s Rogers. tainted greens were eventually traced of any plant and not planting within
According to CR’s own recent lettuce to one small section of just one grower’s 2 miles of animal farms. But even these
tests (see “Findings From CR’s Lettuce field. In addition, cut or damaged leaves additional safeguards might not be
34 CR.ORG MARCH 2020 *After hearing about the romaine outbreaks, according to CR’s survey.
Good Source Of: to know. If you want
One serving must greens grown without
have between harmful pesticides,
10 and 19 percent of opt for those labeled
the daily dose of the USDA Organic.
named nutrient.
Date harvested and/
Fresh: According to or region where
the FDA, this term grown: The FDA
Ready-To-Eat “means that the food suggests that growers
is in its raw state and of romaine lettuce label
TRIPLE
has not been frozen or their product with this
WASHED subjected to any form information so that the
of thermal processing lettuce can be more
or any other form of easily traced in the
preservation.” However, case of an outbreak.
the term doesn’t But this is voluntary
address when the and doesn’t apply to all
greens were harvested, leafy greens.
and those that were
washed in a mild Hydroponically
chlorine solution can Grown/Hydroponic:
be labeled fresh. Generally speaking,
this means that the
Unregulated
How to Shop the
greens are grown
Claims in a greenhouse using
Washed/Triple- a nutrient solution
sufficient, according to experts such as Getting to the Root Source foods—defined as those that are
Warriner at the University of Guelph. “We know it’s a complicated problem,” often involved in food-poisoning
The FDA, the leafy greens industry, says CR’s Rogers. “But this system outbreaks or produced in a way
and researchers at the University of is broken, and there are things that that makes them more likely to
Arizona Cooperative Extension are could be done that aren’t being done.” contain dangerous bacteria—but has
conducting a multiyear study to better Although members of the LGMA not yet done so. “The FDA should
understand all the ways that produce test and now treat surface water immediately develop this list and put
may become contaminated. “We’re that touches edible parts of plants leafy greens on it,” Rogers says. “By
collecting thousands of samples over at least once in the 21 days before law, once a food is deemed ‘high risk,’
the course of a few years—soil samples, each harvest, according to the the FDA has more authority to require
water samples, air samples, animal organization’s standards, CR thinks record-keeping and compel recalls,”
footprints—to see if it can further inform more testing is needed. “The FDA he says. “That will go a long way
what we know about how contamination needs to implement the stricter toward preventing and controlling
might occur, and we’re hopeful that it water testing rules that were laid out foodborne illness.”
will,” says the FDA’s Yiannas. in the Food Safety Modernization CR experts also say that Congress
But we may never get to a place Act,” says CR’s Hansen. Those rules, should pass legislation recently
where lettuce is considered a low-risk which require more testing of more proposed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,
food. Producers have already made water samples, were supposed to take D-N.Y., and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro,
most of the changes that we know effect in 2018, but they have yet to be D-Conn., that aims to strengthen the
would improve food safety, so the next implemented and are now pushed FDA’s ability to pinpoint the origin of
steps are going to be harder to uncover, out to at least 2022. “The delay is foodborne-illness outbreaks in greens
according to Channah Rock, Ph.D., one unacceptable,” he says. and other produce. The legislation, if
researcher on the project. “There’s no And under the FSMA, the FDA is passed, would do this by giving the
such thing as zero risk,” she says. supposed to issue a list of high-risk FDA the power to inspect CAFOs to
FOR
CONCERN
BY SCOT T M E DI NTZ I L LU S T R AT I O N S BY B E N S H M U L E V I TC H
Use Arbitration
documents as we could find, including the terms of service (or “terms and
conditions” or “terms of use”), warranties, legal and privacy policies,
and user agreements and manuals. We also searched each company’s
website and contacted many companies directly, though most did not
Agreements
respond. Note that the list is not definitive: Companies marked as
not using arbitration agreements may have one we did not find, those
with arbitration agreements may not apply them to all of their products or
interactions with customers, and we did not consider company-branded
financial products such as credit cards. What to make of the results?
We suggest using them as a tiebreaker: For two products comparable
WA S M A NDAT ORY YES in price and quality, err on the side of caution and choose the one that
A RBI TR AT ION
LANGUAGE FOUND? NO does not appear to require arbitration when resolving disputes.
BL U E L E ME N T * AMANA D OR E L ( M A X I- C O S I ,
S A F E T Y 1 S T, C O S C O ,
G O O G L E ( P I X E L P HO NE S) * HISENSE FRIGIDAIRE
T I N Y L O V E , BEBE C ONF OR T,
LG* I N S I GN I A ( BE S T B U Y ) GE I NFA N T I , QU I NN Y )
MO T OR OL A* LG* K E NMOR E GR A C O
NOK I A ONN ( WA L M A R T ) K I T C HE N A I D B A B Y T R E ND
S A M S UNG * PHILIPS* LG* BR I TA X
ZTE S A M S UNG M AY TA G C OMB I
A L C AT E L S ON Y * S A M S UNG G O O DB A B Y ( E V E NF L O)
APPLE VIZIO* W H I R L P O OL NUN A
ONE P L U S TCL BOSCH PEG PEREGO
UP PA B A B Y
* Has a clause that allows you to opt out of mandatory arbitration within a specified period of time and sometimes using specified language.
Dannon Yogurt Bank of America
Health Claims Overdraft Fees
How Consumers 20 0 9 20 11
Have Fought
for Safer
Products
The company settles a class- This bank plus 17 others
action lawsuit accusing it of settle dozens of class-action
overstating the health benefits lawsuits accusing them of
of several probiotic yogurts, “resequencing” checking
including claims that they account transactions in a way
prevent colds or the flu. that generated exorbitant
One of the main concerns about mandatory arbitration overdraft fees.
is that it often prevents consumers from joining together P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T
to fight back against companies that have misled or $35 million to P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T
harmed them. That restriction on class-action lawsuits affected consumers. About $1 billion to
not only can limit consumers' ability to receive damages affected consumers.
from companies but also removes a powerful motivation M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E
for industry to change unfair practices or fix harmful Dannon agreed to change M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E
products. Here’s a look at recent examples of lawsuits— labeling and marketing of the Many banks agreed
and marketplace changes—that might not have products. And the class action to change their practices.
happened if consumers had been forced to arbitrate. is followed by an additional
Unless otherwise noted, the companies that settled the $21 million settlement with the
following cases did so without admitting wrongdoing. Federal Trade Commission.
laundry. It turned out that the rubber Whirlpool, for example, says it “applies How to Protect Yourself
gaskets around the doors trapped to any and all claims, disputes, or Arbitration, in some cases, can be a
moisture, among other problems. controversies of any nature whatsoever good option for consumers, provided
Class actions involving millions of that You may raise against Whirlpool they understand the trade-offs and can
washers followed, and by 2017 Bosch, and/or its Affiliated Entities.” deliberately choose arbitration over the
Electrolux, LG, and others settled. So what would happen if the mold court system after a dispute arises, says
Whirlpool, for example, agreed to give problem emerged today? For one CR’s Slover. What advocates object to is
owners at least $50 or a 20 percent thing, it would be hard to find a lawyer. requiring consumers to agree to arbitra-
rebate on a new machine, and up to Jonathan Selbin, lead counsel in the tion before buying a product or service, PHOTOS, THIS PAGE: CONSUMER REPORTS; GETTY IMAGES
$500 for repair or replacement. Whirlpool and LG suits, says it’s “highly and long before a dispute has arisen.
Arguably, even more important unlikely” he would sign on to cases with The federal Forced Arbitration
were changes to the marketplace such a broadly written clause in place. Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, passed by
motivated by the class actions. Though In fact, before taking new cases he now the House in September 2019 and now
the problem hasn’t been eradicated, always asks whether an arbitration in the Senate, would ban predispute
several problematic washers have been clause is in effect. “It’s become a forced arbitration, including provisions
taken off the market or redesigned to threshold inquiry right up there with that prevent people from joining class
be less susceptible to mold. Many whether the problem is real,” he says. actions. In the meantime, is there
now come with self-cleaning cycles. And without a lawyer consumers rarely anything you can do? It’s not always
But here’s the catch: Those prevail: Just 6 percent of people who easy, but here are some steps to try:
companies now impose arbitration represent themselves in arbitration win, Check to see whether companies
provisions. The clause added by research shows. use arbitration. Though this information
The German automaker The San Francisco-based The hotel company (and its The web services provider
admits to programming some financial giant settles a lawsuit sister resort company) reaches agrees to settle several class
of its diesel engines to cheat claiming it forced customers a preliminary settlement in a actions alleging that it failed to
emission tests. to pay for car insurance they class-action case accusing it of protect user info and delayed
didn’t need and without their improperly charging so-called notifying victims after cyber
P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T knowledge. The scheme pushed resort fees that were not attacks affected about 3.5 billion
$14.7 billion to affected about 274,000 customers into adequately disclosed before user accounts, thought to be the
consumers. Owners can have delinquency and resulted in customers purchased rooms. largest data breach ever.
their cars repaired or bought almost 25,000 wrongful vehicle
back at prescandal values, repossessions, according P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T
and receive a cash payment of to the complaint. $5.9 million to If the settlement is approved,
$5,000 to $10,000. affected consumers. $118 million will go to affected
P OT E N TI A L PAYO U T consumers, including up to
M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E $432.4 million to M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E $25,000 in out-of-pocket losses
The settlement includes almost affected consumers. Wyndham says it will more for each victim.
$5 billion for environmental clearly disclose fees.
mitigation and promotion of M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E M A R K E T P L AC E C H A N G E
zero-emission vehicles. The bank agrees to stop Yahoo says it will improve its
the practice. cyber security practices and hire
an independent third party to
monitor their effectiveness.
is often buried, CR has done the hard If you’re choosing between two and other consumers. In a handful of
work for you for some popular products products similar in quality and price, cases, doing so prompted companies
(see the chart on page 43). In other use arbitration as a tiebreaker. For to reverse course on arbitration. For
cases, look for arbitration language on example, Evenflo and Graco both example, in 2014 food giant General
your own. The clauses often lurk in links offer top-rated convertible child car Mills dropped arbitration requirements
at the bottom of a company’s website seats for about $100—but Graco’s come that the company said applied even
under headings such as “terms of use” with a mandatory arbitration clause. to people who simply downloaded
or “legal terms and conditions.” Search (The company did not respond when coupons, after a wave of consumer
for “arbitration” and “dispute” using asked why it has that provision while outrage and media coverage. “We’ve
the “find” function. Also check the user most other car-seat makers that we listened,” the company wrote in a blog
agreements that most of us agree to looked at don’t.) post in April of that year. “And we’re
when we purchase a product online or Opt out when you can. Some changing our legal terms back.”
otherwise interact with a company’s companies allow consumers to opt out Negotiate using the legal leverage
digital offerings. of arbitration, such as the mattress you have. If you have a dispute and
Don’t let down your guard when maker Simmons Beautyrest. But act find you’re bound by an arbitration
shopping offline, either. Companies put fast and read the instructions carefully. clause, know that many companies
arbitration clauses in owner’s manuals Companies often require you to take try to settle disputes informally
and warranty materials, and on the the step within 30 days of purchase and before beginning arbitration or
product packaging itself. to use specific language. defending small claims cases in court.
Try to choose products from Complain. Use social media to In fact, some companies may make an
companies that don’t use arbitration. contact the CEO, customer service, offer before you begin legal action.
E ND Y OUR
HAVE BUFFERING V IDEOS AND DEAD ZONES GOT YOU DOWN? HERE’S HOW TO BOOST INTERNET
ME TA L K I T CHE N
A P P L I A NCE S A R E
D I F F I C ULT F OR W I F I
T O P E NE T R AT E .
T HE WAT E R
I N A F I S H TA NK
C A N I MP E DE
A W I F I S I GN A L .
W IF I W OE S
SIGNAL THROUGHOUT YOUR HOME. BY NICHOL AS DE LEON ● ILLUS TR AT ION BY SINEL AB
F
travels through your router. Those F I VE COMMON
credit card numbers you share online W IF I ROADBLOCKS
with Amazon? They exit through the & HOW TO F I X THEM
router, too.
“WiFi is electromagnetic
That’s why a router has to be a
radiation, just like light,” says
security guard in addition to being Bhaskar Krishnamachari,
efficient and convenient. A good one a professor of electrical
receives routine firmware updates and computer engineering
from the manufacturer to combat and computer science at
potential threats from hackers and the University of Southern
other ne’er-do-wells. California. “There are objects
that block it and others that
let it through.” Here are some
Few gadgets in your home can make Is my router a slowpoke? common obstacles to think
you quite as frustrated or bewildered If your WiFi connection is noticeably about as you place routers
as a router with a crummy WiFi signal. sluggish, you may be tempted to write and use connected devices.
Without a fast and reliable internet off your current router as a dud. But In this diagram, we’ve
connection, you fi nd yourself huffi ng don’t be too hasty—there may be other arranged a three-piece
mesh router network to help
as you wait for websites to load on your factors at play.
eliminate potential dead
laptop, fidgeting as YouTube videos First, take a look at a bill from your spots in a multilevel home.
freeze on your tablet, and staring in ISP to see what level of broadband
despair at email inboxes and social you’re paying for. You’ll need a
media feeds as they struggle to refresh connection of at least 25 megabits per
on your smartphone. As for streaming second to stream Netflix video for
the latest edition of “WrestleMania” 4K TV, for example. If you’re not paying
MESH HUB
on your smart TV? Forget about it. To for that, or if you don’t have access to
add to your angst, you may not know that kind of speed where you live, a MESH SATELLITE
how to troubleshoot those problems— brand-new router won’t help you.
beyond calling a tech-savvy relative You can easily run a speed test using
THE SETUP
and pleading for help. a service like fast.com to see what For the best results, place the
Sick of all the waiting? Let our you’re really getting. You may want hub in the center of your home
experts bring you up to speed to run this test a few times. First, run (1) and between the satellites
(2 and 3), says Richard Fisco,
on solutions. it with your laptop plugged into your
who oversees electronics testing
router to check your speed in the for CR. Note that satellite 3
How does my router work? best-case scenario. You can then move sits on the kitchen counter
Understanding the basics of what your around with your laptop to different away from the refrigerator
(4). The WiFi signal from both
wireless router does will go a long way areas of your home to see how fast WiFi
the hub and satellites can
toward helping you fix some hiccups. is at different locations. also reach up and down to
“Think of a router as an electronic Next, you’ll want to assess the other floor levels, eliminating
traffic cop,” says Richard Fisco, placement of your router. They tend to potential dead zones.
who oversees electronics testing for do best when set up in the center of a
Consumer Reports. Once it’s hooked home, allowing the signal to reach out
up to the modem provided by your in every direction. A router tucked away
internet service provider (ISP), a in a corner may not have the range to
router directs the internet connection travel to the other side of the house, or
throughout your home, making it from the second floor to the basement,
wirelessly available to devices like your because the signal degrades the farther
laptop, smart speaker, and smart TV. it gets from the source.
Your router serves as a link between If your router is in a suboptimal
the outside world and all of your spot (the basement, for example), try
personal and financial data. The tax moving it. One way is to buy a long
return you filed electronically? It Ethernet cable (keep it under 300 feet),
Thicker walls tend to A refrigerator and other If you live in an Microwave ovens also Water absorbs radiation,
absorb more of a WiFi appliances that contain apartment building or operate in the 2.4GHz Krishnamachari says.
signal than thinner a lot of metal can cause a heavily populated frequency band, So your WiFi signal is
walls, Krishnamachari trouble, too. WiFi signals neighborhood, you might Krishnamachari points likely to get hung up near
says. While you can’t may bounce off them be susceptible to wireless out. That can cause pools, tubs, and, yes,
easily change how thick instead of passing congestion created by interference, he says, if, that 100-gallon fish tank
your walls are, simply through to the other side. nearby devices running for example, you decide you installed.
repositioning a mesh Metal plumbing and on the 2.4GHz frequency to make a second bag of
satellite closer to a rebar in your walls create band. Try changing your popcorn while streaming
room’s entrance may similar problems. router and devices to the a Netflix movie. To avoid
help boost the signal. 5GHz frequency band, the interruption on movie
which has many more night, try switching your
channels. If your router laptop or smart TV to
doesn’t support 5GHz, the 5GHz band.
select another channel in
the device’s settings.
3
plug it into the modem and the router, that promises faster speeds, a longer
and move the router yourself. Or you CR PICKS FOR range, and better support for the ever-
can ask your ISP to help you relocate EVERY HOME expanding fleet of connected devices in
the modem, though the company may modern homes.
charge you depending on the labor Also known as 802.11ax, WiFi 6
involved. If you’re planning to change replaces the WiFi 5 standard formerly
GRE AT VALUE
providers, Fisco says, you may be able FOR BIG HOUSES known as 802.11ac, which debuted in
to get the job done free, so ask while 0 TP-Link Deco
$ 2013, and WiFi 4 (802.11n), which dates
you’re negotiating the switch. Whole Home (3-pack) back to 2009. The consortium that sets
If your router is already in a central $180 these standards announced a WiFi 6
location, the slow connection might certification program in September
be due to obstacles in the house that 74 2019, and a number of routers that
can impede a WiFi signal. (See OVERALL support the standard are now available,
SCORE
“5 Common WiFi Roadblocks & How including three models in our ratings.
to Fix Them,” on page 48.) You can try But only a few internet-connected
moving the router around a room to STRONG devices are currently WiFi 6-
address such problems. FOR MEDIUM SPACES compatible. (The latest Apple
If those tweaks don’t help, it may be 0 Asus AC2900 $160
$ iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Note
time to find a model better suited to smartphones are examples.) WiFi 4
your needs, especially if you’ve been 86 and 5 devices can connect to a
using a single-unit router in a multi- OVERALL
WiFi 6-compatible router, but they
story home. SCORE get none of the technology’s speed
benefits. So our experts say it’s fine to
Which router is best for me? hold off on making the leap if you can
ALL YOU NEED
These days, you’ll find two types of FOR A SMALL HOME save money on a slightly older model.
wireless routers: traditional models 0 TP-Link
$ “If you still have a WiFi 4 router but
and mesh network models. You’re Archer C7 AC1750 $70 your smartphone, TV, and laptop all
probably familiar with the former. support WiFi 5, get a WiFi 5 router
They’re single-unit devices that plug 70 instead,” Fisco says. That will set you
into a modem. They can be plenty up for a good five years.
OVERALL
fast, supporting even the data-hungry SCORE
Parental controls
Throughput, near
Gigabit Ethernet
Throughput, far
Supports WPS
Ease of setup
Data security
Data privacy
Throughput,
Versatility
Number of
Number of
USB ports
LAN ports
midrange
WiFi 6
W IRELESS ROUTERS
$
0 Synology RT2600ac 91 $200 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
$
0 TP-Link Archer C3150 V2 87 $160 4
0 2
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
Netgear Nighthawk X10
!
0 (AD7200)
86 $395 3
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 0 0 0 6 2
$
0 Asus AC2900 (RT-AC86U) 86 $160 3
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
Netgear NIghthawk
$
0 AC1900 (R7000)
79 $150 4
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 4 2
!
0 TP-Link Archer AC5400 79 $235 3
0 2
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 4 2
!
0 Asus AX6000 (RT-AX88U) 78 $290 3
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 8 2
Netgear Nighthawk X6S
!
0 (AC4000)
78 $300 4
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 4
0 5
0 0 0 4 2
!
0 Asus AC3100 (RT-AC88U) 77 $225 3
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 8 2
Linksys AC3200
!
0 (WRT3200ACM)
76 $250 3
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 4 2
Google and Asus OnHub
$
0 AC1900
74 $120 4
0 5
0 4
0 4
0 5
0 3
0 5
0 0 0 1 1
Netgear Nighthawk X6
!
0 (AC3200)
73 $200 3
0 3
0 5
0 5
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
$
0 TP-Link Archer C1900 72 $105 3
0 2
0 5
0 4
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
$
0 TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 70 $70 3
0 2
0 4
0 5
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 0 0 0 4 2
Linksys AC1900
(WRT1900AC)
69 $210 3
0 4
0 5
0 5
0 2
0 4
0 4
0 0 0 0 4 2
1
0 2
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 0
! 0
$ MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 51
POOR EXCELLENT RECOMMENDED CR BEST BUY
Ratings WiFi Wizards
Parental controls
Throughput, near
Gigabit Ethernet
Throughput, far
Supports WPS
Ease of setup
Data security
Data privacy
Throughput,
Versatility
Number of
Number of
USB ports
LAN ports
midrange
WiFi 6
MESH W IF I
HOW WE TEST: The Overall Score authentication, encryption, software Throughput scores are based on parental control options, and quality
is based on the performance of updates, and resistance to known signal speeds at near (8 feet from of tech support. Ease of setup is
a device’s data security protections, exploits. Data privacy is a measure router), midrange (30 feet away), based on the availability of status
signal speeds, versatility, and ease of how the device and its service and far (an average of the results LEDs, guest network options, and
of setup. Data security evaluates provider collect, share, and use data, at 45 and 100 feet away) distances. WiFi-protected setup, and the
how well the device and its service and how much control the user has Versatility scores are based on simplicity of the mobile app or web
provider protect personal info via over the flow of that data. the number of LAN and USB ports, browser-based activation process.
W H AT ’ S T H E You may have seen ads might notice a significant from the access point to your
online touting tiny devices drop in throughput speeds connected device is going
DEAL WITH WIFI that manufacturers promise in the “extended” network, through an intermediate
EX TENDERS? will expand the reach of says Kannan Athreya, step,” he says. By contrast,
your WiFi network for $25 or an associate professor mesh routers use two
less. Known as WiFi range of computer science and different frequency bands.
extenders, these devices can engineering at Ohio State The bottom line? An extender
push signals from a router University. That’s in part may work well for you, but a
deeper into your home in because an extender relies mesh router is more likely to
an effort to eliminate dead on the same frequency smoothly stream 4K video
spots in a far-flung bedroom band as the router itself. “So to multiple TVs at once.
or office. The catch? You now the data that originally
would have come directly
85%
DASHBOARD DECODER ASK OUR EXPERTS T H E V I TA L S TAT I S T I C
Percentage of CR members
who are very satisfied with
their car's rear cross traffic
□ COFFEE SHOP AHEAD warning (RCTW) system—
the highest satisfaction
□ TAKE A BREAK
rating of any safety system.
□ YOU LEFT YOUR COFFEE RCTW detects approaching
ON TOP OF THE CAR vehicles when backing up.
Road noise is annoying, and studies have even
□ CUP HOLDER WARMER ON Source: CR's 2018 ADAS Survey.
suggested that the sustained drone can lead to driver
The symbol means you fatigue and reduced awareness. For those who prefer
should take a break a purr to a roar, here are the quietest recommended RECALL
because your steering vehicles in four low- to midpriced categories.
pattern and road position
suggest that you're not Volkswagen Golf Mazda CX-5
alert. In our experience, this
type of attention monitoring
PRICE RANGE: $23,195-$37,295 PRICE RANGE: $25,090-$37,055 Subaru
system doesn't work very
NOISE 0
4 OVERALL SCORE 0
79 NOISE 0
4 OVERALL SCORE 0
84
Vehicles
well. We prefer those that
actively monitor the driver's Toyota Camry Kia Telluride Subaru is recalling more
head and eyes with a PRICE RANGE: $24,295-$35,000 PRICE RANGE: $31,690-$43,490 than 250,000 Crosstrek,
driver-facing camera. NOISE 0
4 OVERALL SCORE 0
84 NOISE 0
5 OVERALL SCORE 0
92 Forester, and Ascent
SUVs, and Impreza
hatchbacks and sedans.
A faulty valve can separate,
possibly causing a sudden
TIP FROM THE TEST TRACK MPOW 033 ($9.99) or the dashboard, the MPow
This basic, inexpensive M4.1 also charges phones loss of power that could
Cell-Phone Mounts mount easily attaches to equipped with Qi wireless lead to a crash. Affected
vehicles are from model
your windshield with a charging capability.
Phone mounts help suction cup and comes with years 2017 to 2019.
BEAM ELECTRONICS AIR
keep your cell phone a stabilizer bracket designed What to do: Dealers will
VENT MOUNT ($14.99)
visible and secure, to reduce vibration (make
It secures to a vent, blocking replace the faulty valve and/
and within easy sure windshield mounts are or replace any damaged
little or none of the view.
reach while driving. legal in your state). parts—including the entire
This type of mount may not
These are among the MPOW M4.1 ($39.99) attach to vertical vents and engine—at no charge. Owners
favorites of the models With a suction cup that will block airflow from the can call Subaru customer
evaluated by CR. attaches to the windshield vent it’s attached to. service at 844-373-6614.
HOW DOES
ADVANCED SAFETY
TECH AFFECT
CAR REPAIRS?
Consumer Reports set
out to find average prices
for minor collision repairs
that have become pricier
as shops contend with
repairing and recalibrating
advanced driver
assistance system (ADAS)
parts. We asked RepairPal,
an independent group
that tracks repairs, to run
the figures. Additional
costs vary by model,
but it’s clear that ADAS
equipment can make
some of these repairs
more expensive. But
studies have also shown
that some ADAS features
can reduce crashes and
collision-claim costs.
Front bumpers can hold sensors and cameras that help make LED headlights and taillights are available on more mass-market
automatic emergency braking (AEB) and other ADAS features cars these days, adding expense when they’re damaged and need
work. Experts recommend recalibrating sensors and cameras to be replaced. LED headlights provide a brighter and wider beam
after minor collisions, even if the ADAS equipment doesn’t need pattern, but they don’t necessarily help you see farther down the
to be replaced. Recalibration costs vary by model and the road, CR’s tests have found. “LED headlamp assemblies vary wildly
features involved. Vehicles with AEB and forward collision warning in cost,” says Jill Trotta, vice president of RepairPal’s automotive group.
(FCW) had 50 percent fewer rear-end collisions, according to a “Some European assemblies can cost as much as $3,000 to $5,000.”
study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Only headlight assemblies (not taillights) need to be recalibrated.
SIDE MIRROR
REPLACEMENT
$300-$500
STANDARD MIRRORS
$1,000-$2,500
MIRRORS WITH ADAS
+$250 and up
RECALIBRATION
Cameras and radar sensors that help AEB and lane departure warning Cameras and sensors for rear AEB, cross traffic assist, and
(LDW) work are often mounted inside the windshield. Depending on parking assist live behind the rear bumper and can be damaged
the type of damage, windshield repair or replacement can involve in a collision. Vehicles with rear AEB [when combined with
sensor and camera replacement and/or recalibration. Vehicles with rearview cameras and parking sensors] had 78 percent fewer
LDW had 21 percent fewer single-vehicle, sideswipe, and head-on backup crashes, according to the IIHS-HLDI study.* “Any basic
crashes with injuries, according to the IIHS-HLDI study.* body technician can do a bumper repair,” Trotta says. “Now,
there’s so much tech built into the bumper it takes advanced
technicians and calibration to fix it.”
Figures are based on average repair costs for typical cars that consumers might own, plus some higher-end outliers, according to RepairPal, an independent group that tracks repair costs. The figures don’t reflect repair
costs for some ultra high-end vehicles or for more serious crashes requiring more extensive body work. The pricing is for car, SUV, and light-duty truck repair costs, including parts and labor. RepairPal is a CR partner.
*Source: IIHS-HLDI’s “Real-world benefits of crash avoidance technologies,” June, 2019.
ROAD
REPORT
[ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 55 ] wider adoption of collision avoidance crashes in the longer term, offsetting for
(FCW), automatic emergency braking systems, drivers should save money, the increase in repair costs.”
(AEB), lane departure warning (LDW) even if collision repair bills are higher. Technology has been evolving at
and adaptive cruise control (ACC). “Yes, crashes happen, and with ADAS a faster rate than some repair shops
EyeSight’s components include a pair of onboard, they could cost more to repair can keep up with in terms of new
cameras mounted inside the windshield today,” says Jake Fisher, CR’s director of equipment and training, says Jeff
that help ACC and other convenience auto testing. “But the equation should Evanson, COO of Smart Express, a
and advanced safety systems, such as eventually work out in the driver’s company that provides van-based
AEB, calculate the distance from the favor because as we reduce on-the-road mobile calibration units to collision
car to objects ahead. A windshield mishaps, we’ll save on repairs in the repair shops. “As these systems become
replacement for Hine’s Subaru now future. We value proven safety systems more complicated, you’re never going
requires glass that’s more complex to because they dramatically reduce to be able to use a shade-tree mechanic
manufacture, so that the cameras can minor and more serious crashes.” to fix them,” he says.
see clearly. The cameras must also CR and other car experts stress
be recalibrated by technicians using that ADAS features must be repaired Safety Tech Goes Mainstream
expensive equipment. correctly or safety systems can become The development of ADAS represents
EyeSight is available on most new disabled or function improperly and one of the biggest steps forward in
Subarus. The manufacturer isn’t the cause dangerous errors. safety technology since the introduction
only one with this type of system. Most “Most forward-facing cameras used of airbags in the 1970s and the
new cars and trucks for sale are now for ADAS are mounted to the glass in requirement in 2012 that all vehicles
available with various ADAS features. or around the rearview mirror, and have electronic stability control.
The upside is that motor vehicles those cameras don’t know where they ADAS can flash warnings when a
are becoming much safer. For are in relation to the glass,” says Jon collision seems imminent, stop a car
example, rear-end collision rates in Cardi, a senior vice president at Safelite if the driver fails to respond, alert the
vehicles with both FCW and AEB were AutoGlass. “A minute movement at driver when the vehicle is swerving
46 percent lower than those without the windshield could translate to a big out of its lane, steer the vehicle back
these systems, according to a recent error several hundred feet ahead at into its lane, alert the driver to vehicles
study by the University of Michigan highway speeds.” in blind spots, keep a driver from
Transportation Research Institute. Not all collision repair shops are backing into objects, and maintain a
The study showed that lane departure qualified to fix ADAS-equipped safe following distance using adaptive
crashes fell 21 percent for cars with vehicles, and information about how cruise control. The systems operate
LDW and lane keeping assistance (LKA), to repair these vehicles isn’t always by using an array of sensors feeding
and that having a backup camera and available, creating uncertainty for information about speed and distance
other systems, including reverse AEB insurers and repair shops. into the vehicle’s computer system,
with rear cross traffic alert, reduced “We should think differently about which then informs its braking,
backup collisions by 81 percent, among what constitutes a fender bender,” steering, and engine control modules.
other safety findings. said Joe Schneider, a KPMG adviser to “Vehicles with ADAS features are
The downside is that repairs cost more insurance companies. “Stuff that people less likely to crash,” said Matt Moore,
when ADAS components are damaged or wouldn’t have even filed a claim for in senior vice president of the Highway
even jarred slightly in minor collisions. years past [now] has a technological Loss Data Institute (HLDI), a nonprofit
That’s because the sensors integral to component that affects the safety and that researches vehicle insurance
ADAS usually live in peripheral, easy- operability of the vehicle.” losses and is part of the Insurance
to-damage areas—inside bumpers and “Repair costs have been going up in Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
windshields, and in side mirrors. So a recent years as vehicles become more “Not only do they prevent claims
minor collision or a cracked windshield expensive to repair, so that can be for vehicle damage, some are also
can become a major expense. expected to put pressure on insurance associated with reducing the frequency
Consumer Reports believes that premiums,” said Bob Passmore, assistant of bodily injury liability claims.”
all cars should come standard with vice president of auto claims with the ADAS technology has trickled
AEB, pedestrian detection, FCW, and American Property Casualty Insurance down in the last two years from
BSW. CR experts say that with fewer Association (APCIA). “The hope is that luxury cars into more affordable
crashes over time because of the the technology will reduce the number of models. According to AAA, more than
5 Questions to Ask
If you’re in the market for a car with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), be sure to spend your money
on features that can offer real safety benefits. And if you need a repair, it may not be obvious which shops are
qualified to fix these complex systems. Here are some key questions to consider.
Should I be wary of event of a crash, damaged collision repair shops. Some rear-end crashes. CR gives
buying a luxury vehicle ADAS equipment would be manufacturer websites have extra points if AEB and FCW
just off-lease? covered as part of regular a list of certified collision come standard on all trims
collision insurance, minus centers, although you might of a tested model. Seriously
Yes. Older model-year any deductible. Collision have to dig around for it. If consider whether you should
luxury vehicles had ADAS coverage is generally you go with an independent pay extra for high-tech
features first and might required when leasing or repair shop, research convenience features, such
be snapped up off-lease if you’re still paying off a online reviews and ask the as LED headlights, that might
by cost-conscious luxury vehicle loan. If you own the shop which certifications add to repair costs but not
seekers. But the vehicles vehicle outright and opt out it has, and if it can make necessarily improve safety.
could be more than a few of collision coverage, you the necessary repairs and
years out of warranty, and could be stuck with expensive calibrations. Should I ask for
you could be looking at collision repair bills. factory parts?
expensive repairs for ADAS- How do the benefits
related equipment that How can I tell if a shop of advanced driver If your car is under
breaks down and for other has the equipment to assistance systems warranty, you should ask for
repairs in general. manufacturer parts because
repair these systems? compare with
some manufacturers could
the repair costs? void your warranty if certain
Should I get an extended Ask your dealership if it
warranty to cover can handle the repair or If you’re shopping for a car, aftermarket parts are used.
high-tech safety gear? if it can recommend a we strongly recommend If your car is out of warranty,
qualified repair shop. Not all a vehicle with automatic aftermarket or used parts
Insurers and other dealerships have the tools emergency braking (AEB) can save you money and
companies offer extended necessary to recalibrate with pedestrian detection, should provide the same level
bumper-to-bumper ADAS sensors and cameras, forward collision warning of safety. CR believes that to
warranties that would pay but a factory-backed service (FCW), and blind spot keep repairs more affordable,
for the breakdown of ADAS department can usually point warning (BSW). These car manufacturers and their
equipment and other items in you in the right direction. systems have been shown associated dealers shouldn’t
your car, beyond the regular You also can look online for to substantially reduce have a monopoly on parts or
warranty period. In the manufacturer-recommended repair services.
According to the Auto Care “WE’RE SEEING and less expensive to repair. “Now that
Association, shops report that the most these critical safety systems have gone
common repairs are for bumpers, MORE AND MORE mainstream,” he says, “automakers have
fenders, and doors. Bumpers—which CARS DECLARED an extra responsibility to make sure
usually consist of a hard frame with consumers can afford to both buy and
a plastic cover—can house a host TOTAL LOSSES repair them— especially when they’re in
of sensors that can be damaged or BECAUSE OF relatively minor crashes.”
misaligned in a low-speed collision.
In the past, minor bumper damage
THE COST OF Repair Shops in Transition
could be repaired by filling scratches REPAIRING THEM.” Finding the right collision repair shop
and gouges, then spot-painting. But TIM COOK, OWNER OF “A” AUTO BODY is key for consumers because there are
SHOP IN THE RICHMOND, VA., AREA.
body-filler compound and fresh paint serious safety implications if a sensor
could impair vehicle sensors, so some isn’t recalibrated correctly.
bumper repairs now require the more Safelite AutoGlass did testing using
costly option of replacing the cover. AEB sensors that were intentionally
“Years ago, there might be a little misaligned and found that vehicles
nick on it that you would never file collided with targets they were
a claim for,” says Schneider, the supposed to avoid.
insurance company adviser. “Now, that “It’s in everyone’s best interest to
same nick could require recalibration see that such recalibration is done, and
of a camera or sensor.” done properly,” says Passmore, the
Damage to headlight and taillight assistant vice president at APCIA.
assemblies and side mirrors can be CR experts stress the importance
similarly expensive. Side mirrors often of following manufacturer guidelines
contain cameras and other electronic They all stressed the importance of with ADAS repairs. But they say
parts, such as flashing warning lights. increasing safety via new technology. some shops aren’t able to meet this
“Ten years ago, our average repair Dominick Infante, director of standard yet.
ticket was about $1,600,” said Tim Cook, communications for Subaru of America, The National Institute for Automotive
owner of “A” Auto Body Shop in the said it was difficult to estimate how Service Excellence, an organization
Richmond, Va., area, which is qualified much its EyeSight features add to the that certifies technicians, told CR it’s
to work on ADAS-equipped cars. “Now, cost of otherwise typical collision work, developing a credential for repair
it’s over $4,000. We’re seeing more and given the multiple variables involved technicians working on ADAS features
more cars declared total losses because in each crash, including the severity so that they’ll be competent at
of the cost of repairing them.” and location of the collision, as well as diagnosing, repairing, and calibrating
Then there are other expensive parts the specific ADAS features involved. equipment. But the first credentialed
now more common on new vehicles, He stressed that Subaru’s goal was to tests won’t be ready until 2021, the
including large-diameter wheels with reduce crashes. Along that line, he group said.
low-profile tires that can be more easily said, “Consumers should expect and The cost of ADAS repair and
damaged by potholes. LED headlights demand any repair facility working on maintenance could decline over
and taillights are becoming more their Subaru to have all necessary ADAS time as more vehicles have them as
common on cars as consumer demand calibrations completed before picking standard equipment and as more
rises, and repairing them can run into up the vehicle.” repair shops have the necessary skills
the multiple thousands of dollars for “Any deviation from Original and equipment, says Fisher, CR’s
some luxury SUVs. Equipment Subaru Parts, and the system director of auto testing.
Some vehicles also require sensor may not operate as intended,” he added. But he and other auto-safety
calibrations as a part of wheel David Friedman, vice president of experts say it would be a mistake
alignments so that adaptive cruise advocacy at Consumer Reports, who was for consumers to avoid these critical
control sensors can work properly. a senior official at the National Highway features because of concerns about
We asked several automakers about Traffic Safety Administration, says repair costs. “The real savings will
the extra costs related to collision automakers should work harder to make come from the crashes you didn’t have
damage in ADAS-equipped vehicles. safety sensors more durable in crashes in the first place,” he says.
IN THE RAREFIED air of to inputs, which makes the THE AFFORDABLE VERSA does a lousy job insulating
posh three-row SUVs, the big GLS feel smaller than it is. sedan has been totally occupants against bumps and
redesigned GLS stands out as The engine and transmission redesigned for 2020 (the potholes. Factor in a basic
a top player, offering loads of combine to deliver effortless hatchback version has been driver’s seat that’s short on
performance, comfort, and power without any hesitation. discontinued). We’re happy back support, and a cramped
opulence for the money. But The 48-volt mild-hybrid system that the new Versa comes rear seat, and traveling in the
convoluted controls hurt its makes the stop/start function with standard advanced Versa can be a punishment. At
road-test score, and below- work smoothly, too. We got safety features, but the least handling is secure, even
average predicted reliability 20 mpg overall, not bad for a brittle ride, vague steering, when pushed to its limits.
drags down its Overall Score. 5,500-pound SUV. and uneven interior quality At first glance, the interior
The GLS is essentially an But the controls could be a are disappointing even for a looks inviting. The climate
elongated version of the deal-breaker. Many functions budget car. and audio controls are
midsized GLE SUV with are buried in a digital version The new Versa has more straightforward, and the
an incredibly roomy cabin of a customer-service phone horsepower, but it gets winded optional soft-touch dashboard
and a third-row seat that’s tree. Plus, it’s too easy to climbing a hill or merging into trim is an unexpected
actually usable for teens and inadvertently change a display traffic. Ask the engine to work premium detail. But the
adults. Front- and middle-row or audio choice by brushing hard and it protests with a plastic that looks like carbon
seats also provide fi rst-class against the touch-sensitive metallic buzz that permeates fiber is a sporty flourish that’s
PHOTO: JOHN POWERS/CONSUMER REPORTS
comfort, and the cabin is controls on the center console the cabin. At least acceleration out of place in a basic sedan,
wrapped in top-notch leather, and steering wheel. feels linear, thanks to a well- and it detracts from the
chrome, and wood. Advanced safety features, tuned continuously variable interior’s appearance.
A standard air suspension including forward collision transmission. But the Versa’s A big selling point is the
system endows the GLS with warning (FCW), automatic small size doesn’t give any standard FCW and AEB, a
excellent ride quality, keeping emergency braking (AEB), benefit to fuel economy. rarity at this price. Buyers
passengers blissfully unaware and blind spot warning We got just 32 mpg overall, will have to upgrade to the SV
of most road imperfections. (BSW), are standard. The which is the same as the trim to get BSW, which also
There’s little body lean when optional active driving much larger Toyota Camry. adds Android Auto and Apple
taking corners, and the assistance system keeps the The car is easy to maneuver CarPlay compatibility, bigger
steering responds promptly GLS centered in its lane. and park, but its suspension wheels, and a nicer interior.
SUBARU LOYALISTS WILL be a well-designed center console AFTER NEARLY A two-decade it’s more livable than the Z4.
pleased that the redesigned with a cutout for right knee absence, the famed Supra Drivers need to be limber to
Legacy doesn’t stray far from space. Slim roof pillars and has been reborn. It’s a joint climb into the narrow, low-
the previous model, and that generous side windows allow effort between BMW and slung cockpit. The sense of
a host of improvements help excellent outward views. Other Toyota, and the Supra shares confi nement is heightened
it top our midsized sedan high points include a roomy the bulk of its mechanical by the short glass all around,
ratings. The car is sensible, rear seat and a large trunk. hardware with the BMW which also makes for terrible
comfortable, quiet, and easy If you’re looking for a peppy Z4 convertible we tested in side and rear visibility.
to live with in almost every personality, the standard 2019. But Toyota’s unique Sure, there’s abundant road
way, plus it comes with engine may not be for you. suspension tuning makes the noise, but it’s overshadowed
all-wheel drive, a unique The Honda Accord and Toyota Supra deliver a much more by the car’s magnificent
standard feature in the class. Camry are about 1 second rewarding driving experience mechanical symphony with
One of the first things quicker from 0 to 60 mph. than its German cousin. a hearty engine roar and an
you’ll notice while driving The Legacy’s 28-mpg overall Under the hood is a exhaust bark that comes with
the Legacy is what you don’t fuel economy is good for an turbocharged BMW engine each shift, especially when
feel—bumps in the road. Its AWD sedan, but that’s a few that delivers robust power driving in Sport mode.
suspension soaks up potholes mpg behind those same front- on demand, perfectly We’re happy to report
with an uncanny fluidity wheel-drive rivals. orchestrated by the slick, that the Supra comes with
that’s better than some luxury Subaru has taken a turn quick-shifting automatic. FCW, AEB with pedestrian
sedans costing three times for the worse with its The two-seat coupe detection, and LDW. It’s
as much. The cabin remains infotainment system, which instills so much confidence unfortunate that BSW and rear
hushed, too, though the requires multiple steps for that drivers will want to cross traffic warning (RCTW)
boisterous base four-cylinder drivers and passengers to push it toward its limits, as are extra-cost options.
engine can feel a bit strained perform some common tasks. we often did around our While the tight cabin, stiff
when climbing hills. FCW, AEB with pedestrian test track. The handling is ride, and limited visibility are
The Legacy’s driving detection, and lane departure intoxicating, backed by super- inherent to nearly all sports
position accommodates many warning (LDW) all come responsive steering. The ride cars, they can almost be
body types, with plenty of standard. But it costs extra is stiff, as expected in a high- overlooked because the Supra
headroom, cushy armrests, and to get BSW. performance sports car, but is so thrilling to drive.
Avoidance-maneuver
Owner satisfaction
suitcases+duffels/
Crash prevention
Routine handling
Road-test score
Seat comfort
60-0 mph, ft.
Acceleration
Overall mpg
Dry braking
speed, mph
front/rear
As tested
Luggage,
Controls
Noise
Ride
SUBCOMPAC T CARS
!
0 Honda Fit EX 71 $19,025 4
0 3
0 Opt. 67 33 10.0 132 55.0 4
0 2
0 2
0 4
0/ 40 4
0 2+2
!
0 Toyota Yaris LE 65 $17,570 4
0 3
0 Std. 3
0 60 35 10.3 139 55.0 5
0 3
0 3
0 3
0/2 0 3
0 3+0
Hyundai Accent SEL 63 $18,435 3
0 2
0 Opt. 64 33 9.9 128 57.5 4
0 2
0 2
0 3
0/2 0 5
0 2+3
Kia Rio S 59 $17,220 3
0 2
0 Opt. 61 33 9.6 131 54.5 4
0 2
0 2
0 3
0/2 0 5
0 2+3
Nissan Versa SV 58 $18,980 3
0 3
0 Std. 5
0 61 32 9.6 130 52.5 4 2
0 3
0 3
0 3
/ 0 5
0 3+1
MIDSIZED CARS
Subaru Legacy Premium
!
0 (4-cyl.)
87 $27,609 4
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 89 28 8.9 131 54.5 4
0 5
0 4
0 4
0/ 40 4
0 4+1
!
0 Toyota Camry LE (4-cyl.) 84 $26,364 4
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 86 32 8.0 126 53.5 4
0 4
0 4
0 4
0/ 40 5
0 3+1
!
0 Nissan Altima 2.5 SV 84 $29,330 5
0 3
0 Std. 4
0 81 31 7.6 131 53.5 3
0 3
0 4
0 4
0/ 40 5
0 4+0
!
0 Honda Accord EX (1.5T) 82 $28,345 3
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 89 31 7.7 135 54.5 4
0 4
0 4
0 4
0/ 40 4
0 4+1
!
0 Kia Optima LX (2.4L) 82 $25,860 3
0 3
0 Std. 5
0 86 28 8.0 130 51.5 4
0 4
0 4
0 5
0/5 0 5
0 3+2
!
0 Mazda6 Touring (2.5L) 80 $26,590 4
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 79 28 9.2 133 54.0 4
0 4
0 4
0 4
0 4
/ 0 4
0 3+2
!
0 Ford Fusion SE (1.5T) 72 $27,720 3
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 81 24 9.2 125 52.5 5
0 5
0 4
0 3
0/4 0 4
0 3+2
SPOR TS CARS
!
0 Porsche 718 Boxster 2.0T 88 $69,790 4
0 4
0 Opt. 95 26 4.4 108 59.0 5
0 2
0 2
0 4
0 / NA 3
0 1+2
!
0 BMW M240i 87 $50,400 3
0 4
0 Std. 4
0 98 25 5.2 115 58.5 5
0 3
0 4
0 5
0/2 0 4
0 2+0
!
0 Toyota Supra Premium 80 $56,115 3
0 5
0 Std. 4
0 91 27 4.6 115 56.0 5
0 2
0 2
0 4
0 / NA 3
0 1+1
!
0 Audi TT 2.0T 78 $50,600 4
0 4
0 NA 84 26 6.3 113 58.0 5
0 3
0 3
0 5
0/1 0 2
0 1+2
!
0 BMW Z4 sDrive30i 76 $59,195 3
0 5
0 Std. 4
0 86 29 6.1 111 56.0 5
0 1
0 2
0 5
0 / NA 3
0 1+2
Ford Mustang GT
!
0 Premium (V8)
72 $43,295 3
0 5
0 Opt. 84 19 4.9 121 54.5 5
0 3
0 3
0 4
0/ 10 4
0 2+1
!
0 Toyota Land Cruiser 74 $84,820 4
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 68 14 7.3 140 46.0 3
0 4
0 4
0 5
0/40 4
0 43.0
Lincoln Aviator Reserve
(3.0T)
72 $64,920 2
0 4
0 Std. 5
0 82 19 6.2 138 52.0 4
0 4
0 5
0 4
0/ 4
0 2
0 49.0
HOW WE TEST: Recommended models results and the availability of crash NA means no such safety system is standard. We deduct points if a model’s
did well in our Overall Score, which prevention features, such as forward offered; Opt. means it’s available but gear selector lacks fail-safes. Digital or
factors in Road-Test Results, Predicted collision warning and automatic not as standard equipment. We also All-Access members can go to
reliability, Owner satisfaction, and emergency braking, pedestrian rate models from 3
0 to 5 0 based on how CR.org/cars for complete ratings.
Safety, which includes crash-test detection, and blind spot warning. many advanced safety features come
1
0 2
0 3
0 4
0 5
0 !
0 MARCH 2020 CR.ORG 61
WORSE BETTER RECOMMENDED
Index THIS INDEX LISTS ALL THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE MAGAZINE OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS
(INCLUDING THIS ISSUE). FOR INDEXES COVERING THE PAST FIVE YEARS, GO TO CR.ORG/5YEARINDEX.
ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . .. Nov 19, 54 Eyeglasses. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. ... .. . .. . .. .. ....... Mar 20, 15 Noise-canceling headphones .... ..... .... . .. Nov 19, 14
A Key fob features .... . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . Jul 19, 62 Fast-food chains’ antibiotic use. . .. .. ..... . Feb 20, 16 Oat milk ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .... ..... .. .... ..... ..... .. .. .. . Nov 19, 32
Air conditioners Potential deal breakers ... .. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . ... Nov 19, 56 Fees Ovens, self-cleaning... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... ... Mar 20, 14
ratings Profiles, 2019 .. .. . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. .... . ... .. ... ... . ... Apr 19, 48 cable TV .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. ... .. ..... . Jan 20, 7 Pain relief ..... .... ..... ..... .. ..... .. ..... .... ..... .. .. .. .. .. Jun 19, 24
central .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. .. . Jun 19, 21 Ratings, 2019 .. . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. .... . ... .. ... ... . ... Apr 19, 38 hotels . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. ... .. .. Jan 20, 7 Pasta .... .... ..... ... .. .. ..... ...... ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... ... Mar 20, 16
window/portable. ... . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. Jun 19, 23 Reliability .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. .... . .. Apr 19, 86; Jan 20, 50 utilities . . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . .. . ... .. .. . . .. .. .. ..... ... Aug 19, 7 Patio tiles ..... ..... .. ..... ..... .... ..... .. .. ....... ..... ..... . Sep 19, 16
time line . . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Jun 19, 14 ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... .. Apr 19, 88; Jan 20, 55 “What the Fee?!” campaign .. . . .... ..... ... Jul 19, 28 Peanut butter cups .... .... ..... ... .. .. ..... .. ... ... .. . Oct 19, 15
window. . . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . .. Jun 19, 19 Repair time line ... .. . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. ... Mar 20, 14 Fire safety time line . . .. ... . .. ... . ... .. . ... .. ....... .. Oct 19, 14 Pedestrian safety .. ... .... ..... ..... .. ..... .. ..... ..... .. Apr 19, 8
Air fryers. . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. Sep 19, 42 Roadsters Food Pest control time line .... ..... .... ... .. ... .. ... .. ... .. Jul 19, 14
Air purifiers . .. . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. Mar 20, 13 Fiat 124 Spider vs. bread labeling .. . .. .. . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. .. . . .... .. ... .. .. Jul 19, 16 Pillows . .... ..... ... .. .. ..... ..... .... .. ... .. .... ..... .. ... .... Feb 20, 36
Air travel .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . Feb 20, 42 Mazda MX-5 Miata . ... .. . ... .. .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .. Aug 19, 15 breakfast time line. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... ..... . Sep 19, 14 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. Feb 20, 37
time line . . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. Feb 20, 14 Safety systems heavy metals in Plant milks .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ..... .... ..... ....... .. ... Nov 19, 32
Airfare savings.. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . Sep 19, 16 repair costs . ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. Mar 20, 54 fruit juice . .. . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. . .. . .... . . .. .... ..... .. . May 19, 7 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. . Nov 19, 34
Almond milk . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. Nov 19, 32 survey findings .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .. ... . Aug 19, 56 holiday treats . .. . .. . .. ... . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .... ..... .. .. Dec 19, 16 Predatory lending .... .. .. ... ..... .... ... .. ..... .... .. .. Feb 20, 7
Antibiotics in food .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . .. .. .. .. . . .. Feb 20, 16 for teen drivers... .. . ... .. .. .. ... . ... .. . ... .... . ... .. Sep 19, 15 meat labeling . .. . . .... . . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . ... .. .. ..... ..... Dec 19, 7 Printers
Ants, getting rid of in home . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . Jun 19, 14 for women . ... .. . ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. ... .. ... . .... ... . Feb 20, 52 nutrition labeling .... . . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. ..... .... Jan 20, 17 reliability .... .... ..... ... .. .. ..... ...... ... .. ..... .... .. ... Jun 19, 15
Appliances Seat belts .... . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . . May 19, 55 processed.. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . ... .. .. . . .. .. .. ..... . Jan 20, 32 Pyramid schemes ..... .. ..... ..... .... ... .. ..... .... .. .. May 19, 7
coffee brewing . . .. .. . .. . ... . .. . .. . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. . Nov 19, 29 Selling tips .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . .... ... . ... ... Apr 19, 30 Food, antibiotics in . .. . . .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .... ..... Feb 20, 16
ratings .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . ... . .. Nov 19, 26; Nov 19, 30 SUVs Food processors . . . .... . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. .. .... Sep 19, 44
Honda CR-V vs. Toyota RAV4 . . .. ... .. . ... Jun 19, 13
countertop. .. .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . Sep 19, 36
energy efficiency . .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. . Jun 19, 7 vs. pickup trucks. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. . ... .. . .... ... . . Apr 19, 32
Furniture
tipping hazards .. . ... .. . .. . .. .. . .. . May 19, 7; Sep 19, 7 R–S
ratings Tires .. . .. . .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... . ... .... . .. Dec 19, 52 Generators Radon detection . ..... ... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ..... .... .. . Feb 20, 16
countertop . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. Sep 19, 45 ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . .. Dec 19, 56 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. Dec 19, 41 Ranges ... .. .. ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. ..... ..... ... Nov 19, 16
reliability . . . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. Aug 19, 28 time line . .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . ... .... . ... .... . ... Jan 20, 14 safety.. .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .... . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... . Dec 19, 38 Recall failings .. .. ..... ..... .... ... .. .... ... .. ..... .... .. . Dec 19, 42
reliability . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . Aug 19, 24 Top Picks for 2019 .. .. .. ... .. . ... .. .. .. ... .. . .... ... . .. Apr 19, 13 Gifts for $50 and under . . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . .. .. ... .. . Dec 19, 13 Refrigerator water filters . .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. . Sep 19, 17
Arbitration .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . Mar 20, 38 Truck underride guards . .. ... . ... .. .. .. ... . .. .... . . .. Jul 19, 7 Glasses .. . .. . .. ... . .. ... . ... .. . ... .... . . .. .... . . .. .... . . ...... . Mar 20, 15 Retail memberships... .... ..... .... ... .. ... .. .. .... .. Dec 19, 17
Arsenic in bottled water . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . Jul 19, 19 Used cars .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. ... . Apr 19, 82; Oct 19, 54 Granola .. . .. ... . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. ... .. .... Aug 19, 14 Retirement savings . .... ..... ..... .. Jun 19, 7; Oct 19, 36
hidden risks and recalls . ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .. Jun 19, 52 Grills.. .. . . .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. . Jul 19, 22 Robocalls ... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. ..... ... May 19, 22; Sep 19, 7;
AUTOMOBILE RATINGS ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . ... Oct 19, 59 buying at Home Depot vs. Lowe’s . ... .. Jul 19, 24 . .... ..... ..... .. ..... ..... .. .. ....... .... ..... ...... Nov 19, 7; Mar 20, 7
Audi A6 .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. . . . . Dec 19, 59 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. . Jul 19, 25 Roofing . .. ... .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ..... .... .. ... .. ..... .... .. . Jan 20, 19
Audi A8 . .. . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. May 19, 59 Grocery shopping .. . ... .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. ....... . Aug 19, 46 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. . Jan 20, 23
Audi E-Tron . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Nov 19, 63
Audi Q3 . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. . . .. . . .. Jan 20, 61
B–D delivery services
ratings . .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . ... .... . . .. .... ..... .. Aug 19, 51
Routers .. .. ..... ..... .... ..... .... ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. ..... . Mar 20, 46
ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. Mar 20, 51
BMW 3 Series . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. Aug 19, 63 Blenders... .. . .... . .. ... .. . ... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. . ... Aug 19, 19 survey.. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. ... . .. . .... ..... .. Aug 19, 50 Safety standards .... ..... .... ..... ... .... .. ... .. .... .. .. . Nov 19, 7
BMW X7 .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . Jul 19, 64 ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . . Aug 19, 20 Samsung Galaxy Fold ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. ... . Feb 20, 17
BMW Z4 . . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. Aug 19, 64 vacuum . .. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . .... ... . ... .... . ... . May 19, 13 Security systems, home ... ..... .. ..... ..... ..... . Oct 19, 19
Botanicals .... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... . ... .. ... ... . .... ... . .... ... Dec 19, 26
Cadillac XT4. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. May 19, 59
Cadillac XT6.. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. Nov 19, 63 Bottled water . . .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .... Nov 19, 36
arsenic in .. . ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. Jul 19, 19
H–K Sleep aids . ..... .... ... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. ..... ..... .. Feb 20, 34
Slow cookers.. .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ... .. .... ... .. ..... .... .. .. Sep 19, 41
Chevrolet Blazer . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . Jun 19, 60 Headphones, noise-canceling .. . . .... ..... . Nov 19, 14 Smart speakers . ... .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .... ..... .. .. .... . Aug 19, 42
Ford Edge .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. . May 19, 60 Breakfast time line .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... ... . . Sep 19, 14 Health information privacy .. . .. . .. ... ... .. ... .. .. . Jul 19, 7 privacy ... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .... ..... ...... ... .. ..... .... .. .. Oct 19, 28
Ford Escape .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . Feb 20, 59 Cable TV .. ... .. . ... .. .. .. ... . .. .... . ... .... . ... .... . ... .. ... . Sep 19, 24
Hearing aids.. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. ..... .... Jun 19, 42 Smartphones
Ford Explorer . . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Dec 19, 59 fee transparency . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. ... . .... . . Jan 20, 7
ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... . Jun 19, 50 5G service ... .... ..... ... .... ..... .... .. ... .. ..... .... .. Aug 19, 16
Ford Ranger . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Jul 19, 63 Cameras .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . .. Nov 19, 13
Home insurance .. . .. . .. ... . ... .. . ... .. . .. . .. .. ....... . Sep 19, 48 affordable models.. .... ..... .... ... .. ... .. ... ... .. Jan 20, 13
Honda Passport . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . .. . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . Jun 19, 60 Cannabidiol (CBD) . .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . ... .. May 19, 44
ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... . Sep 19, 52 car infotainment features. .... ..... ... .. ... . Jun 19, 34
Hyundai Kona Electric . .. . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . .. .. Sep 19, 63 Car washes . . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. . .... . ... .... . ... .. ... ... . ... Apr 19, 36
Home security systems. . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. ..... .... Oct 19, 19 Soy milk ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. ....... .... ..... ....... .. ... Nov 19, 32
Hyundai Palisade.. . .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . . .. . Dec 19, 60 Cleaning tips
ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. Oct 19, 23 Steam mops ..... .... ... .. ... .... ..... ..... .... .. ..... ..... .. . Jul 19, 15
Jaguar I-Pace .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Jul 19, 63 flat-screen TVs .. . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... . .. .... .. .. .... .. Feb 20, 18
Hot car death prevention. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. ... .. ... .. Nov 19, 7 Stuffing .. ..... ..... .. .. ... ..... .... ..... .. .... ..... ..... .... .. .. Nov 19, 15
Jeep Gladiator. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . Oct 19, 64 grills. .. ... .. . ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. ... ... . .... Sep 19, 14
Ice cream Sunscreens .... .... ... .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .... .. ... .. ..... .... . Jul 19, 46
Kia Niro EV.. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. . Oct 19, 63 laundry stains .. .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. .... .. .. .. ... . Mar 20, 17
healthier... . ... .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .... .... May 19, 32 labeling ..... ... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. ....... .... ... ... . Jul 19, 50
Kia Soul . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . Aug 19, 64 windows .. . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .... .. .. . May 19, 14
ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... . May 19, 37 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. .. .. Jul 19, 51
Kia Telluride . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . ... . Jul 19, 64 Coconut milk . ... .. . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... .. .. Nov 19, 32
time line . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .... . . .. .... . . .. ... .. ....... . May 19, 14 Supermarkets .. ... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. ..... ..... .... .. Aug 19, 46
Lexus UX . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . ... . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . . Jun 19, 59 Coffee . . .. ... .. ... . .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ... .. ... . .. Nov 19, 24
Inclined infant sleepers . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . .. .. ... .. . Feb 20, 7 delivery service survey . ... .... ..... .... ... . Aug 19, 50
Lincoln Aviator . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. Jan 20, 61 coffee makers. .. ... .. . ... .. .. .. ... . ... .. ... . .... ... . . Nov 19, 29
Insect repellents .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . .... .. ..... Jul 19, 54 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. . Aug 19, 52
Lincoln Corsair .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Feb 20, 59 ratings . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .... Nov 19, 26; Nov 19, 30
ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. . Jul 19, 60 time line .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ....... .. ... . Aug 19, 14
Mazda3 . .. . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Aug 19, 63 cold brew . .. . ... .. .. .. ... . ... .. . ... ... Jul 19, 13; Nov 19, 27
Insurance Supplements... .. .. ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. .. Dec 19, 26
Mercedes-Benz A-Class . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . Nov 19, 64 health benefits. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . ... .. ... . .... ... . . Nov 19, 28
auto. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .... Nov 19, 48
Mercedes-Benz CLA. . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . Feb 20, 60 Complaining effectively. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. . Jan 20, 24
ratings . .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . ... .... . . .. .... ..... . Nov 19, 54
Mercedes-Benz GLE. . .. . ... . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. .. . . . Sep 19, 64 Computers
Mercedes-Benz GLS . . . .. .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. .. . Mar 20, 59
Nissan Leaf Plus.. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . Dec 19, 60
all-in-one desktop ratings .. .. .. .. ... . .. ... . Dec 19, 25
laptops .... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . ... Dec 19, 18
home . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .... Sep 19, 48
ratings . .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . ... .... . . .. .... ..... . Sep 19, 52 T–W
Kettles, electric .... . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .... . .. ..... ... Feb 20, 15 Tankless water heaters . ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .. ... Oct 19, 16
Nissan Versa. . . . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . Mar 20, 59 ratings . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . .... . ... ... .. ... . .... ... . . Dec 19, 23
Cookware, stackable .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . .. Aug 19, 17 Televisions
Range Rover Evoque . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. Oct 19, 64
Credit freezes . .. . .... . .. ... .. . ... .. .. .... . ... .. ... ... . .... . Feb 20, 7 8K ..... .... ... .. ... .. .. ..... ...... ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. ..... .... Aug 19, 13
Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. Oct 19, 63
Subaru Legacy . . .. .. . .. .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . Mar 20, 60
Subaru Outback . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Feb 20, 60
Credit scores . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. . ... .. . .... ... . .... ... . .... . Aug 19, 36
how to improve . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . ... .. ... Aug 19, 40
L–P antennas..... .. .. ... .. ... .... ..... ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. . Sep 19, 32
ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. .. Nov 19, 21
Data privacy. .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. . ... ... Oct 19, 24; Mar 20, 7 Laptops . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . .. ... . .. . .... . .. . .... . .. . .... ..... . Dec 19, 18 shopping for.. ... .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. Nov 19, 18
Toyota Corolla. . . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. Sep 19, 63
children’s ... .. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... . Dec 19, 7 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... . Dec 19, 23 Thanksgiving time line ..... ..... .. .. ... ..... ..... Nov 19, 14
Toyota RAV4 .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . May 19, 60
Data protection .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... . Aug 19, 7 Lawn mowers and tractors. . .. . .. .. . . .... ... .. .. Jul 19, 40 Tick protection ..... ..... .. ..... ..... .... ..... .. ..... ... .. Jul 19, 54
Hybrid. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. Sep 19, 64
Data security .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .. ... ... . Sep 19, 7; Oct 19, 7 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... .. . Jul 19, 44 Timeshares..... .. .. ... .. ... .... ..... ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. Feb 20, 24
Toyota Supra . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . Mar 20, 60
Debt. .. .. . .. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . ... .... . ... .. ... ... . .... ... . .... ... . Oct 19, 36 reliability .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .... . .. . .. ... .. ... .. ..... Jul 19, 42 Toaster ovens .. .. .. ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. . Sep 19, 40
Volkswagen Arteon . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . .. . . . .. Nov 19, 64
Decking . .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . ... .... . ... .... . ... ... .. . Aug 19, 17 Luggage .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. .. . . .. .. ... . .. . .... ..... .. Feb 20, 49 Toothpaste ingredients. ..... ... .. .. ..... ..... .. .. . Jun 19, 16
Volvo S60.. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . Jun 19, 59
Deer collisions. .. .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... ... . ... .... . ... .. Oct 19, 14 lifetime warranties . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. ... Feb 20, 47 Trail mix ... ... .. ... .... ..... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. ..... ..... .... . Jun 19, 17
AUTOMOBILES & AUTO EQUIPMENT Deli meat . .... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... Oct 19, 48 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... Feb 20, 50 Treadmills .... .... ... .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. .. ..... .... ... .. Feb 20, 13
Automotive safety . .. . .. .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. . May 19, 52 Dishwashers. . .... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... .. . Mar 20, 19 shipping services . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. ..... . Feb 20, 45 Turmeric supplements . ..... .... ... .. ... .. .. ... .. Dec 19, 36
Best & worst lists .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. Apr 19, 20 ratings . .... . .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . ... .... . ... .... . . Mar 20, 22 Marijuana . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .... . . .. ... .. ....... May 19, 50 TV streaming ... ..... ... .. .. ..... ..... .... ..... .. .... ... .. Sep 19, 28
Brand Report Card. .. . .. . ... . .. . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . Apr 19, 18 Drug prices ... .. . ... .. .. Jun 19, 7; Jan 20, 7; Jan 20, 38 Mattresses . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. ... .. .. Feb 20, 24 device ratings..... ..... .. ..... .. May 19, 43; Sep 19, 35
Car washes . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Apr 19, 36 lowering .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. ... ... .. .. .... . Aug 19, 7 ratings .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... .. . . .... .. . . .... .. ... Feb 20, 36 free. .... ..... ..... .. ..... ..... .. .. ....... .... ..... ....... .. .. May 19, 38
Child car seats .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . Feb 20, 20 Dutch ovens . . ... .. .. ... .. . ... .. . .... . ... ... .. ... . .... ... . .. Sep 19, 13 shopping for online ... . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. .... Feb 20, 26 Vacuum blenders .. ..... .... ..... ... .... ..... .. .. .. .. . May 19, 13
ratings . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. Feb 20, 23 Meat, deli . .. . . .. .. . . .... . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . .. .. ... . .. . .... ..... . Oct 19, 48 Vacuums .... ..... .. ..... ..... .. .. ..... ..... .... .. ..... .... .. .. Sep 19, 19
Coming in 2019 . . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . Apr 19, 28 Meat substitutes. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .... . . .. .. ... . .... .. ... . Oct 19, 42 Waffle irons .. .. .. ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ... .. .... ..... .. .. .... .. Jan 20, 14
Electric vehicles. .. . .. . .. .. . ... . .. . .. . Sep 19, 54; Dec 19, 7
fees . . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. Feb 20, 14
E–G Medical billing
surprise bills .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. .. ....... .... Oct 19, 7
Water, bottled.. .. ... .. ... .. .. ..... ..... .... ..... .. ... ... . Nov 19, 36
arsenic in ..... .. .. ... .. ... .... ..... ..... .... .. ..... ..... .. . Jul 19, 19
Fire prevention .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . ... Jan 20, 16 Echinacea supplements .. . .. ... .. . ... .. .. ... .. . . Dec 19, 36 Melanoma. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . . .... . . .. ... .. . .. . .. .. ....... .... Jul 19, 14 Water filter pitcher ratings ... .... ... .. ... .. ... Nov 19, 47
Infotainment systems .. . . .. . .. . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. .. . . Jun 19, 34 Electric kettles .. ... . .. ... .. . .... . .. ... .. .. .... .. .. .. .... Feb 20, 15 Mosquito repellents... .. . ... .. . .. .. . . .. .. . .. ..... ..... Jul 19, 54 Water heaters, tankless ..... .... ... .. ... .. .. ... ... Oct 19, 16
ratings . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Jun 19, 41 Energy bars for kids .. .. .. ... . .. ... .. .. ... . .. .... .. .. . Oct 19, 17 Multi-cookers. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . . .... . .. . .. ... .. ... .. ... Sep 19, 38 Windows . ..... ..... .. .. ... ..... .... ..... .. .... ..... ..... .. ... May 19, 18
Insurance.. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . Nov 19, 48 Energy efficiency, appliances . .... . .. ... .. . .... Jun 19, 7 Net neutrality . . . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. ... . ... .. . .. . .. .. ....... ..... . Jul 19, 7 ratings .. .. ... .... ..... ..... .. .. ... .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... .. . May 19, 21
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