Favorite Car REVIEW Channels

When you are shopping for a new car, it can be difficult to find reliable sources of information to help narrow your search.  Manufacturers’ websites are a good start, however, they are designed to sell you on their brand.  Those websites are great for pricing and vehicle specifications. too.  That is where the good information stops.

Test drives are an important part of vehicle shopping.  As good as the specs look on paper, nothing beats the sensation of taking a vehicle on the road.  You get a beeter idea about vehicle performance and vehicle noise, vibration and harshness on that drive.

If you are like me, you may have several vehicles in mind to buy, but not enough time to visit multiple dealerships.  That’s where YouTube car reviewers come in handy.  These reviewers typically test a vehicle for a week at a time, so their experience is more vast.  After watching a lot of YouTune channels, I have a handful that I find extremely informative about the subjective review of vehicles.

Listed below are my current favorite YouTube creators.  Each has proven to be knowledgeable and reliable, so I am comfortable recommending them for your vehicle considerations.

YouTube Car Review Channel Listing

Auto Buyers Guide (formerly Alex on Autos)

GT: Garage Talk

Raiti’s Rides

SavageGeese

Texas Truck Channel/TTC Cars

Auto Buyers Guide (formerly Alex on Autos)

This is the place to go if you want more details about the vehicle specs sprinkled in with the lifestyle application. The presentation is well organized and efficient.

The channel’s owner, Alex, does a really nice job of grading key aspects of a vehicle, and his charts and graphics do a great job of communicating key differences between competing vehicles.

You can find Alex’s channel HERE

GT: Garage Talk

I got to know the GT: Garage Talk team a number of years ago when I was invited on to their podcast (see related article below).  At the time, Cory and Matt were just getting started, and were doing interviews with notable personalities in the enthusiast community.

A couple of years ago, Matt moved on to another project and Cory devoted his efforts to growing the channel full time (he quit his day job).  Cory will review new press vehicles from the OEMs as well as dealer inventory units.

In addition to his detailed vehicle reviews, Cory also runs a separate “Family Review” with his wife, Holli.  In those videos, Cory gets Holli’s impressions of a vehicle he just reviewed.  I find the Family Reviews to be more insightful and fun as Holli is not a car nut.  She is not interested in the vehicle specs, just her overall impression of the car.  Hers is an honest, unbiased look at today’s cars.

I think the Family Review makes the channel unique, and think you will too!

Cory and his channel can be found HERE

Raiti’s Rides

This is an excellent car review channel hosted by Joe Raiti.  Joe has a deep automotive background and is an experienced high school teacher.  His reviews are a real education.

Joe’s reviews have a consistent format, which is great for comparing similar vehicles in a segment.  He has good energy and sprinkles food humor into his reviews, often noting how many Twinkies or Twizzlers fit into a storage pocket.  His “zonks” given to missing or unnecessary features are effective pointers.

I added this channel in July 2021, and still watch every one of Joe’s reviews today.

SavageGeese

Mark at SavageGeese places a high value on production quality to tell the story of his vehicle impressions.  By his own admission, his channel has “videos covering technology, life, cars, and trucks.  We set out to go far beneath the surface of tech and engineering, with a quality over quantity approach.”

Mark has a very dry wit.  I mean VERY DRY, bordering on sarcastic.  He keeps it all in check, and I find his honesty and independent approach very refreshing.

His co-host, Jack, is younger than Mark and they often spar about the importance of vehicle features.  This back and forth debate makes for entertaining content! Jack tends to take the lead on the technical aspects of the vehicles they test, and will cover those with the vehicle on a lift.  The two guys provide a nice balance in their videos.

Check out SavageGeese for a high production value, informative vehicle review.

Texas Truck Channel/TTC Cars

Bryan and Craig Raupe run these two channels (one for trucks, one for everything else that is good).  I have been following them for a while, and have enjoyed watching their content and presentation evolve.  You’ll enjoy the banter that only two brothers can pull off.

Early in 2024, they began buying long term trucks for the channel.  I like that they place a focus on affordable trucks that can be reasonably personalized.  So far, they have bought a Jeep Gladiator, Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger.  After a few months of testing , they sell them and buy something new.  Their content can then focus on the shopping and ownership experience with various vehicles.

One other thing:  Bryan and Craig are very involved with their viewers.  They are responsive to comments left on their videos, which helps if they missed a detail that might help you in your buying process.

A full background on these channels, as well as the Raupe brothers, in my article Meet The Texas Truck Channel.  Check out the Texas Truck Channel and TTC Cars for honest reviews and budget modifications.

Final Thoughts & Questions

I continually explore other channels, so will add (or delete) channels to give you my best recommendations at the time.  I’m not opposed to removing a channel if it loses focus or declines in value.  Life is too short to devote time to a resource that proves to be inaccurate or inappropriate.

Let me know if you have any questions or have a favorite channel you feel should be added to my list.

Want to learn more about me?  Go to this article:   Meet The Vehicle Nanny