brakemeister

Diode....
I am not sure about the testrides being solely done by people who have a vested interest. There have been bikes to ride at the worldwide intro party/happening last Summer. Not everybody was invited purely out of having a vested interest. There were bloggers, importers, magazin dudes, and and and ... a pretty eclectic mix of people... a few hardcore sceptics as well ...
Dealer camp had bikes to testride as well, not all of them were Tern Dealers of course.
Than at Interbike Outdoor demo everyone ( dealers, competitors, press ) could ride the bikes ..... not everybody with a vested interest in the brand took a bike for a spin....
There are some bikes floating around and mainly used for press people to ride...
You are right that no bikes are in consumers hands at this time in the US... there should be bikes in Europe/Malasya and maybe other countries for sale as we speak....
than folks like Jur for example had the opportunity to ride one.... and and and ... I bet that Samo has ridden one or two as well..
In any case back to the OP
as You all know I keep myself out of VS threads for a good reason...

it used to be very easy , when one could say that a Brommie was double the price ... salespeople are usually lazy ( I consider myself in sales .... lol ) and always take the way of least effort to compare. 50 % off is an easy way of course. But in all reality it was more to the story all along. Brommies are great for the folks who invested in them and all power to them. Dahons are great for the components they have, they usually ride nicer , brakes are much better, lighter and and and ... Tern will be a bike you want to have if frame stiffness, replaceable/serviceable hinges, an even better ride ...
in the end a testride will be determining what bike, the availability is a major point, the dealer support, if you can get stuff when you travelling, if you want to mod the bike , and and and ..lots of room for every brand of folding bike out there to find exactly the one which YOU like best.

thor