10Best Cars of 2012

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Welcome to 10Best. The cars here don't have to be the newest, and they don't have to be expensive – nothing over $80,000 is allowed. They just have to meet our abundant needs while satisfying our every want. These are the best cars on the market.

The Nominees

Nominees consist of all-new cars, 2011 10Best winners, cars that were not available for the 2011 competition, and those with significant updates. All cars must fall under our base-price cap of $80,000 and be on sale in January 2012.

Audi A6/A7 • Audi TT RS • BMW Z4 sDrive28i • BMW 1-series M • BMW 3-Series/M3 • BMW 528i* • Buick LaCrosse eAssist • Buick Regal GS • Buick Verano • Cadillac CTS/CTS-V • Chevrolet Camaro convertible • Chevrolet Sonic • Chevrolet Volt • Chrysler 200 • Chrysler 300 • Dodge Avenger • Dodge Charger • Fiat 500 • Ford Focus • Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 • Honda Accord • Honda Civic • Honda Fit • Hyundai Accent • Hyundai Elantra • Hyundai Genesis • Hyundai Sonata • Hyundai Veloster • Infiniti G25 • Infiniti M35h • Kia Optima hybrid • Kia Rio • Lexus CT200h • Lotus Evora S • Mazda MX-5 Miata • Mazda 3 Skyactiv • Mercedes-Benz C-class • Mercedes-Benz CLS550 • Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG • Mercedes-Benz E-class* • Mercedes-Benz SLK-class • Mini Cooper Coupe • Mitsubishi i* • Nissan Versa • Porsche Boxster/Boxster Spyder/Cayman/Cayman R • Scion iQ* • Scion tC • Subaru Impreza • Toyota Camry • Toyota Prius V* • Toyota Yaris* • Volkswagen Beetle • Volkswagen Golf/GTI • Volkswagen Golf R* • Volkswagen Jetta GLI • Volkswagen Passat • Volvo S60 R-Design

*These cars met our eligibility requirements but were not available for evaluation.

Audi A6/A7 3.0T Quattro - 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.

BMW 3-Series/M3 - The 3 is still the one.

The competition should have figured out a way to beat the BMW 3-series by now. It’s not for lack of trying: Every so often, another carmaker will pitch a worthy competitor into the mix, but none has been able to knock the 3-series from its pedestal or even maintain its consistent brilliance. After 21 consecutive years on the 10Best list, BMW continues to evolve the 3-series toward some platonic ideal of sportiness. You don’t notice the seats, the steering, the suspension, or the brakes because everything feels natural. Everything feels right. And how has no other automaker matched the silkiness of BMW’s inline-six engines? Don’t forget the M3, either, which remains magnificent in the twilight of a celebrated life, thanks largely to that lusty 414-hp, 8300-rpm V-8. The 3-series sedan is on hiatus until a new model drops in February. In other words, even as the entire current 3-series lineup is on the way out the door, it still roasts the competition.

The biggest threat to its dominance is not from another carmaker but from BMW itself. An increased focus on gizmology has robbed a couple of recently introduced BMWs of the athletic, connected feeling that made the old Ultimate Driving Machine tag line ring so true. Here’s to hoping BMW doesn’t screw up the best one.

Cadillac CTS-V - 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.

Ford Focus - Street fighter.

Two boxing terms seem appropriate here: the “rope-a-dope”—Ali’s ploy to sit on the ropes getting beaten for what seemed like a decade, then come out swinging once the other guy was worn out—and “punching above your weight class,” its meaning obvious. The Ford Focus so embraces these two concepts that it ought to be wearing silk shorts. After nearly a decade of waning significance, the Focus comes off the ropes with several unexpected combinations: a sensational ride-handling balance, an admirable power/mpg index, and fantastic materials and utility inside. This is one of the best front-wheel-drive chassis on the road right now, supple yet precise, and it allows the Focus to get around many more expensive, more powerful, more overtly sporty cars on a twisting stretch. It’s as much sports sedan as economy sedan.

Still, like most prizefighters, it has its vices. No, not pet lions or a taste for ear meat. The Focus’s, at least, are avoidable: No version should be ordered with the frustrating MyFord Touch infotainment system. And no serious driver should purchase a Focus with the clunky-yet-somehow-squishy PowerShift dual-clutch automatic. We recommend the Focus SE with the slick manual transmission and the SE Sport package. It’s the sweet spot of the Focus lineup and a staggering bit of sweet science.

Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 - Sounds pretty incredible and it is.