How we rate

1. 1

   Sources first

   Each guide starts from regulators, standards bodies, government consumer portals and recall databases. Every one we used is linked at the bottom of the guide.

2. 2

   Criteria with published weights

   We break a category into 5–7 criteria and assign weights that add up to 100, based on what most often decides whether buyers stay happy: safety and reliability before extras. The weights are an editorial judgement, shown openly so you can disagree and change them in the scorecard.

3. 3

   No brand rankings in guides

   Guides teach you how to judge a product; they do not rank brands. Where our separate Brand Rating section has scorecards for the same category, we link to it.

4. 4

   No reviews, no star ratings

   Consumer Rating does not publish user reviews or star ratings, and does not mark up pages with review or rating schema. We would rather show nothing than show something we cannot stand behind.

5. 5

   Plain claims only

   We avoid claims about named companies. If a statement depends on your country, the guide says which country.

6. 6

   Reviewed on a schedule

   Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed. We revisit guides when rules, standards or recall patterns change, and at least once a year.

Tell us through support and we will check it against the source and update the guide. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.