Bike reviews aren't being helpful

I'm in the market for a new Gravel bike to commute to work. I've been reading all the reviews, speaking to all the local bike shops and scouring the forums for hints of an unbiased and honest opinion.
Bike reviews online do not help. The majority of them score the bikes around 4/4.5 stars. It seems you can't get a bad bike these days nor can you get an exceptional one. I understand that it depends heavily on what the bike will be used for but I feel as though the reviewers, while brilliant at their jobs don't make it easy for the unsure customer by scoring so many bikes such similar scores.
Discuss
Bike reviews online do not help. The majority of them score the bikes around 4/4.5 stars. It seems you can't get a bad bike these days nor can you get an exceptional one. I understand that it depends heavily on what the bike will be used for but I feel as though the reviewers, while brilliant at their jobs don't make it easy for the unsure customer by scoring so many bikes such similar scores.
Discuss
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You're right here IMO, it's very hard to make a bad bike nowadays. Stuff like groupsets all work well now, no matter how cheap you go.
The only thing I'd avoid is mechanical disc brakes.
Also on the question of reviews - the majority are produced by publications/websites that have a vested interest in securing advertising revenue from bicycle and components manufacturers. As a result, they are unlikely to jeopardise that revenue stream by totally trashing anything in a published review.
As many have said in the past, there is no substitute to getting out there and test riding as many bikes as possible and forming your own opinion.
As many have said in the past, there is no substitute to getting out there and test riding as many bikes as possible and forming your own opinion.
I agree completely, which I guess is why I made this thread. The reviews can only give you a very rough guide to if it's the right bike for you or not. All the flowery language and technical talk means nothing if the bike doesn't feel right for you, which then makes the reviews even more superfluous.
I've made a short list of three bikes which I'm in the process of finding stockists for so that I can ride them before making a final decision.
Interestingly there isn't one shop that stocks all three makes of bike and I've had to take a few off the list because there aren't any UK distributors. Plus when I've rung the bike shops they (just like the reviewers) want to push the bikes they sell. When asking do you stock A,B and C. It's, yes we stock A but B,C are the worst bikes we've ever had to work on or have ever ridden. It's a minefield of bias buying a new bike these days.
Boardman 8.9 looks decent if you grab it in a promo for ~£900 or less, Tiagra hydraulic brakes.
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo
Many will disagree with me but I'm going to say that most cyclists can't really tell the difference between main brand bikes of a similar spec and price if they're set up well for the rider.
Therefore, pick the one you like the look of the most.
One thing, I'd look for a bike without too much propitiatory nonsense that may become a pain in the backside to repair/replace in a few years time.