MotorMouths

The V6 simply feels right. Add in a relatively low price, big comfy seats, and the ability to effortlessly devour miles by the hundreds, and the Charger successfully sustains the tradition of the big American sedan.

The new Fusion’s styling, build quality, seating, features, and handling are clear strengths, while performance and fuel economy are competitive. There’s a coherence in how it looks, how it sounds, how it feels, and how it drives, that you won’t find in many others, especially not at a remotely similar price.

If you’re seeking style, performance, handling, refinement, and everyday practicality all in same car, the Focus ST hatchback isn’t approached by anything else under $30,000, and it isn’t often matched above this level.

The harder you drive the Evo, the better it feels, and the better you feel…as long as you ignore the fuel economy readout. For a reminder of what’s missing from nearly every car sold today, we still need the Evo.

Take a hot hatch, with its safer handling yet more lively disposition, dial the engine and chassis up to 11 while lowering the driving position, tune these bits and pieces to form an unusually coherent firm-but-not-stiff whole, and you essentially have the Audi TT RS.

If you happen to be seeking a fence straddler that provides classic roadster proportions and seating position without classic roadster punishment, then BMW already has your car in the Z4 sDrive281.

The 2012 Ford Focus isn’t a hooner’s delight right out of the box, but I’m nevertheless amazed by just how good it is. It has the look, feel, and refinement of a much more expensive car.

My criticisms stem from how close the new Infiniti M comes to perfection rather than how far it falls from it. Compare it to existing competitors rather than an evasive ideal, and it stacks up very well for anyone who prioritizes the driving experience over silence and spaciousness.

Aside from rear seat room, trunk capacity, and option packaging, the Cadillac ATS approaches, meets, or beats the 3-Series in every area. Interior styling and handling are clear strengths. If I had to choose from among the cars in the segment, this would be the one.

Many aspects of the 328i impressed me—most notably the rear seat and the fuel economy—but BMW seems so confident of its handling superiority that it has sought to only hold the line (or even yield a little) in this area, and concentrate on improving the car elsewhere.

The 2012 redesign removes the M-Class farther from its subpar origins. Even compared to the already much-improved second-generation model, the new one looks and feels more substantial and sophisticated.

If you’re a driving enthusiast in search of a very large car, the Audi A8 wins by just about any objective measure, and by many subjective measures as well.