Early in the indoctrination process, a car enthusiast learns of the impossibility of a single vehicle that excels in every area. A low-slung, lightweight sports car is inherently at odds with cargo and passenger space. That's why we're all dreaming of and scheming toward having a diverse fleet at the ready, right?
But these three cars are about as close as you can get to the do-it-all ideal, with adult-habitable back seats, hatchback cargo spaciousness, and track capability that lets them hang with sports cars from not that long ago. Plus, their mid-$40,000s prices are no higher than the new-car average.
The newest nameplate in this bunch is the GR Corolla. It represents the third vehicle in Toyota's increasingly impressive Gazoo Racing division arsenal. Based on the Corolla hatchback that we know and don't love, the rally-bred GR packs a 300-hp wallop from a 1.6liter three-cylinder, a snicky sixspeed manual, all-wheel drive, and a mechanical parking brake ready to heave it hatch first into the next corner.
Honda overhauled the Civic Type R for 2023, building upon the excellent previous generation, which brought the red R badge back to the U.S. in 2017. The Type R is more harmonious this time around, though, with mature exterior sheetmetal to match the chassis's extreme polish. Power from the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder is up ever so slightly to 315 horsepower, and, like in the Corolla, the only transmission is a six-speed manual.
この記事は Car and Driver の April 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Car and Driver の April 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
AN AMERICAN TOURING SCOTLAND IN AN ENGLISH CAR BUILT IN CHINA
In Dornbach, Scotland, Kitman walks past a modern MG and a Morris Minor, its distant relative. From left: Motoring through the Scottish Highlands; lobster traps in Dunbeath; taking on electrons at Gridserve; traversing the North Sea coast.
THE MAD SCRAMBLE
AN 814-HP V-12 THAT SCREAMS TO 9400 RPM IS JUST THE START OF THE INTENSE EXPERIENCE THAT IS THE LAMBORGHINI REVUELTO.
2022 Rivian R1T
This EV pickup proves to be E-Z to live with.
Spite Defender
Ineos Grenadier HIGHS: Dapper off-road style meets genuine off-road capability, wonderfully smooth powertrain, built like a brick outhouse. LOWS: Incessant warnings, sloppy and slow steering, noisy on the highway.
The Revivalist
The Nissan Murano emerges fresh-faced and revitalized from a long-overdue redo.
ELECTRICAL CONNECTION
The Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, and the Hyundai Sonata all take different approaches to hybridization, but which one does it best?
The Achilles Kneel
Mercedes-Benz W123 wagons doing the Carolina Squat can get their droopy self-leveling rear suspension back up to snuff courtesy of a Californian.
Dollars to Donuts
Despite the high cost, automakers are still drawn to racing.
G to the Power of E
Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology HIGHS: Quicker than the old G550, improved handling, better braking. LOWS: Cubist shape torpedoes highway range, cramped inside, dorky name.
The Best Odds
The cars I recall most fondly were neither the prettiest nor the quickest. Certainly not the most expensive. They were machines that emerged willfully peculiar and intractably idiosyncratic.
