Explaining our rating scale
You want a recommendation? You got it.
Car Stuff
25 June 2025
TL;DR
We use a five-level recommendation scale that answers the only question that really matters: would we actually tell you to buy this car? It's clear, honest advice. Like a drive thru for car decisions.
What’s our rating scale?
One of the main reasons we started Drive Thru Media is that car ratings are a mess.
You know the ones, where a car gets a 7.7 and another gets a 7.8. Cool, thanks. That tells me absolutely nothing. What’s the difference? Is 7.8 life-changing? Is 7.7 trash? Based on our uni results, a simple pass/fail scale worked just fine and still landed us the same grad jobs as the HD kids.
Then there’s the star rating trap. We tried that too, briefly. But seeing 3.5 out of 5 feels… bad. Even though that’s technically 70%, which, in our books, and based on the many “credits” we proudly scraped through our degrees with, is a great mark. However, we often gravitate towards restaurants with at least four stars on Google.
See how complicated this gets?
We figured the people reading this site aren’t out here looking for academic transcripts. They just want to know: Would you, the car reviewer, actually recommend I buy this thing?
So that’s what we built our scale around.
The Drive Thru recommendation scale
Level | Explanation |
|---|---|
No Chance | Unless you've crossed us and ended up on our sh*t list, we won't be recommending this car. |
Unlikely | Not the best use of your money. |
Depends | It’s a maybe. If you’re clear on your priorities and don’t mind making some compromises to get them, it could work. |
Likely | A good option. Worth a test drive. |
Very Likely | We’d recommend this car to you, your dad, your cousin's hairdresser, and your dog. |
Simple. Clear. Not a decimal point in sight.
We also consider who it’s actually for. If you’ve got two kids and a pram, we’re not going to suggest a pint-sized hatchback just because we liked the paint. Every car has an ideal buyer, even if that buyer is just someone whose expectations are aggressively low (looking at you, Holden Cruze).
Some people curse the day they bought their car. Others think it was the best thing they ever did. It’s not always about “good” or “bad.” Sometimes it’s about “right for you.”
Why did we call it the Drive Thru score?
Late-night brainstorms and whiteboard sessions kept circling back to one idea: people read reviews because they want to know what to do.
Should I buy it? Should I run? Should I test drive it or just sign the contract and hope for the best?
We wanted our reviews to be that simple. Like ordering at a drive thru:
“Hi, can I get a small SUV that’s good on fuel and won’t break down in 6 months?”
“Sure, just check the screen. Toyota Corolla Cross sound good?”
Done. Easy. On to the next part of your life that you actually care about.
