On the other hand, if you want unbiased, quasi-scientific tests, who is gonna pay for it?
It is actually in your best interest if YOU are paying for it, since then you are the customer and not the product.
That said, it isn’t even that expensive. When I buy a washing machine, I just buy the Warentest article on washing machines first which makes the overall purchase, like, 0.5% more expensive.
I think the problem for people who are not in Germany is that manufacturers often release different versions for each market. So, for example, you might find that >50% of the models being tested by Stiftung Warentest exist only in Germany or other parts of Western Europe.
Tænk[1] in Denmark is a bit like that, which is not surprising given their customer is the consumer, not the advertiser. However they're not quite as much of an institution as Stiftung Warentest is in Germany.
does something like this exist outside of germany? Having a Stiftung Warentest subscription always strikes me particularly german.