LOS ANGELES, CA (November 28, 2018) – Car and Driver, the world’s largest automotive enthusiast magazine, today unveiled its annual “10Best Cars” list for 2019, recognizing the best cars on the market under $90,000.
The honorees were revealed today during a lunch at WP24 by Wolfgang Puck during the Los Angeles Auto Show. Car and Driver Editor-in-Chief Eddie Alterman presented the trophies to the automakers. Online coverage is available here and the full package will be published in the January issue, on newsstands December 18.
“10Best cars are not only full of personality and fun to drive, they also deliver on their missions, with exacting engineering,” Car and Driver writes. “And they represent real value for the money, which is why we exclude those with base prices above $90,000, newly raised from $80,000 to account for rising transaction prices.”
The 37th annual Car and Driver 10Best Cars are:
BMW M2 Competition – “Rather than merely overcompensating for its pint-sized proportions by being a loud-mouthed hothead, the M2 Competition turns explosive power and a well-balanced chassis into euphoric exercise.”
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport/Z06 – “The Corvette brings supercar or near-supercar numbers to our relatively tame test field. Cars with performance similar to the Grand Sport’s and especially the Z06’s are all locked out of 10Best by their prices, giving the Corvette a major advantage in the eyes of an editorial staff addicted to horsepower.”
Ford Mustang GT/Bullitt – “Cue the 2019 Mustang Bullitt, a collection of sights, sounds and sensations that drills into your psyche and leverages all the insecurities and aspirations it finds there…It’s an eminently livable package with a worthy interior and much-improved ride quality. That the $36,350-and-up GT is $11,240 cheaper is merely a testament to what a steal a V-8 Mustang is.”
Genesis G70 – “The G70 is a balanced performer in the best tradition of the class’s stalwarts. The loaded-up, V-6–powered Sport model delivers progressive, predictable handling and confident transitional responses. And the electrically assisted steering matches the suspension tuning—precise but comfortable. The goodness is not restricted to the big-engined car, either; the four-cylinder version with nonadjustable dampers is just as satisfying.”
Honda Accord – “As the Honda Accord has appeared on our 10Best Cars list a record 33 times, we’ve praised the virtues of this humble family sedan (and occasional coupe) for more years than many of our staffers have been alive. Such an achievement is no accident; it’s the culmination of Honda’s fastidious fine-tuning and dogged attention to detail. The current-generation Accord, now in its sophomore year on this list, exhibits Honda’s obsessive-compulsive approach to mass-market carmaking.”
Honda Civic Sport/Si/Type R – “All three cars deliver bold responses and yearn to be more than simple commuters…These three Civics offer a wide latitude of driving virtue and price points. Together, they cast a sprawling net of performance, utility, and value.”
Mazda MX-5 Miata/RF – “The Miata is so small that it seems to disappear around you as you drive. With the top down, the boundary between inside and outside blurs. The reactions to steering and pedal inputs are almost supernaturally well calibrated; nothing is lost in translation between the driver’s demands and the car’s responses. And after years of lackluster engines, Mazda has revised the MX-5’s 2.0-liter for 2019, finally making the Miata’s mill a willing companion for spirited driving.”
Mercedes-Benz E450/Mercedes-AMG E53 – “Witness the Mercedes E-class, a car adept in nearly every facet of automotive behavior. The mid-size Mercedes is a shrewd handler, smartly packaged, capable of adapting to any scenario, and, in the new-for-2019 AMG E53, equipped with an engine that warrants its own doctoral dissertation.”
Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman – “The Boxster first showed up at 10Best in 1998, and this year’s inclusion marks its 20th. Since 2007, the near-identical Cayman has regularly accompanied the Boxster, sharing 12 of its wins. Their power and performance have risen over the years, but they remain tightly packaged sports cars designed, at their cores, for spirited driving.”
Volkswagen Golf Family– “We love all Golfs, and how could we not when the basic package is this good? The lineup’s broadening range of talents brings the basic car’s inherent goodness into clear relief. Without its brilliant packaging, chassis integrity, and clarity of purpose, none of the many variants could do what they do so well.”
Nominees consist of all-new cars, 2018 10Best winners, cars that were not available for the 2018 competition, and those with significant updates. All cars must fall under the base-price cap of $90,000 and be on sale in January 2019.
Full coverage of the Car and Driver 10Best Cars can be found in the January issue, on newsstands December 18, and online here. Additionally, the 10Best Trucks and SUVs, which recognize honorees in ten different segments including subcompact SUV, subcompact luxury SUV, compact SUV, compact luxury SUV, midsize SUV, midsize luxury SUV, large SUV, midsize pickup, full-size pickup, and vans, will be announced online at CarandDriver.com in January.
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Contact:
Nathan Christopher, Hearst Magazines
212-649-2582, nchristopher@hearst.com