What Kind of Car Research and Buying Guides Does Autoweb Offer?

Updated

Autoweb's Research Center is a library of editorial content rather than a pricing tool: it publishes competitor comparisons, expert road tests, buying tips, shopping guides, and video, organized under a Research Center hub plus Latest Articles and Popular Makes sections. It is useful if you are narrowing a shortlist or want a second opinion before visiting a dealer; it is not where you configure a specific car or get a firm out-the-door price.

What the Research Center actually contains

The site describes the Research Center as "articles that may help you on your car buying journey." The content falls into a few recognizable formats:

  • Competitor comparisons — list-style pieces that set one model against its closest rivals, such as "10 Acura MDX Competitors to Consider," "10 Kia Telluride Competitors to Consider," and "10 Volvo XC90 Competitors to Consider."
  • Buying lists by budget or need — for example "10 Cheap Reliable Cars," "10 Good Cheap Cars For Teenagers Under $10,000," "10 Affordable Cars With 500 Horsepower," and "10 Hybrid Cars With the Longest Range."
  • Expert insights and road tests — first-person reviews of specific model years, such as a 2026 Ford Transit road test, a 2026 Toyota GR Supra road test, and a 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid road test.
  • Head-to-head comparisons — paired reviews like "2026 Subaru Outback vs. 2026 Toyota Crown Signia" and "2026 Mazda CX-5 vs. 2026 Mazda CX-50."

A byline appears on these pieces (Brady Holt and Ron Sessions are the two credited in the sample), which matters if you want to follow one reviewer's output rather than read across authors.

How to browse it

The Research Center sits alongside New, Used, Reviews, Expert Insights, Top 10, Compare Cars, Car Buying Tips, Shopping Guides, Financing, Videos, News, and Service & Repairs in the site's navigation. Two entry points do most of the work:

  1. Research Center — the curated hub of buying-oriented articles, including the competitor roundups.
  2. Latest Articles — a reverse-chronological feed where new reviews and comparisons appear first.

You can also start from Explore by Type (Sedan, SUV, Coupe, Hatchback, Truck, Convertible, Minivan, Wagon, Van) or Explore Brands (a long A–Z list from Acura and Alfa Romeo through Volvo), which filter articles by body style or manufacturer rather than by a specific vehicle.

Where the guides stop and the listings begin

Autoweb separates editorial content from inventory. The Research Center and article feeds tell you about cars; the used-car search — make, model, year, and ZIP code, with an advanced search option — is where you look at actual listings near you. The site also states it has connected consumers and dealers since 1995 and provides performance-based marketing solutions to the automotive industry, which is worth knowing when you read a review: the editorial and the dealer-facing business sit on the same site.

A practical way to use it

If you are choosing between, say, a three-row SUV and a minivan, the competitor roundups are the fastest starting point — they assume you already have one model in mind and want to see what else occupies the same space. From there, move to a head-to-head comparison for the two finalists, then check whether a road test exists for the specific model year you are considering, since the reviews on the site are tied to model years (2026 and 2027 in the current feed) rather than to a generic nameplate. Use the body-type and brand filters when you have a category but no shortlist yet.

One limitation to plan around: the article formats are listicles and reviews, so they are good at surfacing options and impressions, not at giving you a structured spec-by-spec table across ten cars. For that kind of side-by-side, expect to open several articles and compare notes yourself.