Car and Driver's 2012 '10Best' Cars

Passion and persistence win. Always.

It's easy for love affairs to wilt as life's odometer ticks off the years. But our passion for the Audi A6 — a two-time comparison-test winner in its previous guise — has now burgeoned into the sort of fiery affair that would have prompted Humbert to jam a ring onto each of Lolita's 10 delicate digits. For 2012, the A6 enjoys its seventh remake, with all of its most lovable traits — right-now power, gratifying steering, unyielding structure — present and accounted for. This is a car that waltzes in the hills because it's so forgiving, so informative, so easy to drive to its limits. At its heart still beats a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6, making 310 horsepower, now paired with a rapid-fire ZF eight-speed automatic.

Audi scores a two-fer here because the A7 "four-door coupe" — $9350 dearer — is a mechanical clone that also shares the A6's cabin furnishings. What the A7 lacks — one fewer seat abaft — it spectacularly counters with slick slant-back styling, 0.93 g of grip, and a power hatchback that envelops 25 cubic feet of storage space. The A7 is so good that it has already trumped, in a comparo, the V-8-wielding Mercedes-Benz CLS550. Both of these Ingolstadt invaders engross their pilots in a peaceful, cushy, clubroom cockpit. And both offer so much passionate bang for the buck that it's fair to label them as practical purchases.

The ace, king, and queen of the American fleet.

Let's get the CTS-V's achilles' heel out of the way first: It's useless as a getaway car. If you plan to knock off a liquor store, we strongly recommend choosing something other than one of these superheroes as your ride. Because although they have the ability to expeditiously achieve escape velocity — of the six we've tested, the slowest clocked 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds — all burn indelible retinal images. The chain-mail grilles, shark-fin taillamps, 19-inch chariot wheels, and center-exit tailpipes (coupe only) make these cars conspicuously easy for the most witless eyewitness to rat out. Except for that one fault, the V trio — coupe, sedan, and wagon — is blessed with more than its share of virtue. Think of a Corvette with extra seats.

During our most recent Lightning Lap extravaganza, we pronounced a CTS-V coupe track-ready in no small part due to its Nordschleife-proven Brembo brakes and near-Porsche-grade steering. This Caddy's magnetorheological shocks work so well that Audi and Ferrari use versions of them. The handling is forgiving, the ride is supple, and the high-speed stability makes it the unlikely king of the autobahn. But the clincher is every V's honking 556-hp, supercharged and intercooled V-8. Do your part to "Save the Manuals!" by ordering your CTS-V with a stick shift.

Sounds pretty incredible and it is.

What the Boss 302 did for the Mustang GT is not too dissimilar from what the Stradivari family did for the violin. The basic instrument (the violin, the Mustang GT) was already pretty great. Near perfection. Then someone (a Stradivari, Ford Mustang engineers) managed to create a new standard for all other luthiers and/or muscle-car makers. Which are kind of the same people. Okay, they're not, but the point is that nothing can touch the Boss at $41,105. With its screaming 7500-rpm, 444-hp, 5.0-liter V-8, it'll rip off 60 mph in four seconds flat, break the quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds at 117 mph, stop from 70 in 155 feet, and hold the road at 0.95 g. If you are wondering, those numbers are on par with the $20,970-pricier BMW M3 coupe. And don't forget the Boss 302 Laguna Seca edition, good for one second around its namesake track.

Our biggest complaints are that the steering wheel lacks a telescoping feature and that steering feedback is, at best, vague. We got over it, and so can you. Also, as one of us found out, your significant other may have a problem riding around in a car that has "Boss" emblazoned on its side. Then again, if 40 large is too rich, the Stang GT doesn't disappoint. It's short 32 horses and lacks the track-ready suspension of the Boss, but it's an astounding instrument in its own right.

Small outside. Bursting with genius inside.

Excellence comes in many sizes, but when the Fit first earned its way onto our 10Best list in 2007, it alone offered that quality in the B-segment, a size class that was largely an afterthought in the go-go Aughts. Now, the class is bursting with legitimate pint-sized threats from Hyundai, Mazda, Ford, and Chevy, but Honda still wins with best-in-class passenger space and cargo capacity. It also offers the most flingable chassis and a five-speed manual that is among the great ambassadors to the stick. That transmission would no doubt sway even more converts if it had a sixth gear to calm the engine on the highway.

Overall, though, the Fit is not just a triumph over other small cars, it's a triumph of engineering. It makes the minds behind other cars seem lazy. There are so few intrusions into the capacious interior that you'd think the structure consists of a thin layer of aluminum foil stretched over some toothpicks, even though this body shell is astoundingly rigid. All hatchbacks offer folding seats, but the Fit's create a completely flat load floor and open up 57 cubic feet of cargo volume — 13 more than you'll get if you flop the back row in a Ford Explorer. In other markets, this tiny Honda is sold as the Jazz, which is appropriate: It exudes all the unflappable cool and versatility of a session drummer.

Baby Porsches, all grown up.

A sports car should be transportation for the spirit as well as the body, and few sports cars offer a more transcendent driving experience than these mid-engined fraternal twins. In either roadster or hatchback form, they're distinguished by exceptional balance, eager responses, and a link between car and driver that's free of excessive filtration. Civilized, yes. But not at the expense of purity. Over the years, the sinews of Porsche's entry-level twosome have grown stronger and more flexible; the output of their flat-six engines has climbed as high as 330 horsepower in the new Cayman R; and their styling has become less 911-derivative.

Another trait that upstages the 911 is the twins' practicality: Yes, they give up two only grocery- or small-dog-appropriate seats to their big brother but in return offer covered storage fore and aft. There was a time when we also used the word "affordable" in connection with these two. But with the least-expensive roadster starting at $49,050, that no longer tracks. On the other hand, it's the most attainable of Porsches, almost $31K less than a basic 911. The Boxster has now made 12 10Best appearances since its 1998 debut, and this will be the sixth straight for the Cayman. Porsche will unveil a new Boxster in the spring; we can't wait to meet it.

2012 BMW 3-Series M3

2012 Ford Focus

2012 Honda Accord

2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

2012 Volkswagen Golf / GTI

For more information on any vehicle in this slideshow, click the links below:

- Audi A6 / A7 3.0T Quattro
- Cadillac CTS-V
- Ford Mustang GT / Boss 302
- Honda Fit
- Porsche Boxster / Cayman
- BMW 3-Series M3
- Ford Focus
- Honda Accord
- Mazda MX-5 Miata
- Volkswagen Golf / GTI

Compare: All the cars