Considering the short time reviewers seem to have with the cars they review, it seems to be mostly about initial perception and expectations.

I remember watching an episode of "Speed" where a Crossfire (cannot remember if it was a N/A or SRT) was pitted against an Audi TT and a BMW (Z3 I think, not sure) in the UK. They drove on different terrain, ending with a spectacular dash on a beach(!). The 3 drivers had 3 different perceptions, and ended up having 3 different choices for best drive (strangely enough, the most experienced driver of the lot chose the XF...)