MotorMouths

The Acura ZDX is an SUV with a coupe-like silhouette and sporting aspirations. It’s not the energy-efficient people mover of the future, but it is a step out of the primordial SUV ooze.

Between the Aston Martin DBS Volante’s voluptuous Sophia Loren lines and the sound of the wicked V-12 engine, it’s almost unfair. Are we not mortal; do we not bleed? Give me the key!

The Aston Martin Vantage V-8 roadster is not the fastest car, but quick enough. And it’s nicely balanced, great to look at, and wonderful to sit inside. What more can you ask from an impractical, two-seat convertible, anyhow?

While the XJ and the 7 Series have superb cockpits, the 2011 Audi A8’s mix of shiny tech and man-cave comforts is hard to beat. It’s odd that Audi thought of everything except perfecting the most elemental bit — driving.

With the top missing, the proportions of the Audi R8 5.2 Spyder are better — wider and more squished. More exotic. The combination of all-wheel-drive, mid-engine layout, manual transmission and big engine is the perfect algorithm for a convertible.

While my bank account tells me that there are 273,000 reasons I couldn’t own the Bentley Continental Supersports, the most important one is the fact I’d be on first-name terms with every police officer north of the Mason-Dixon line.

I found the Mulsanne to be a big car that proved surprisingly wieldy. The lap of luxury? Yeah, pretty much, but my experience with Bentley’s electronic gadgetry has been consistently poor.

Unlike white-knuckle-driving supercars which cost more than a house in Florida, the Bentley Mulsanne induces a vastly different reaction. Breath out, relax. You’re rich, after all.

Taking out the new BMW 5 between the 3 and 7 Series sedans was especially instructive. The 535i is heavier in the corners than the 335i, certainly, but shows a surprising willingness to turn on a dime. And it eats up straightaways with the gusto of a 750i.

By nature convertibles are exercises in compromise. Either they’re small and fun but have no space, or are too big and lumbering. The 2012 BMW 650i is an exception. First, it’s sexy. Honed and a tad bit dangerous, its lines are long and flaunting, undeniably special.

A vehicle like this will always have a few compromises, and the BMW X3’s are suddenly scant. Those who would naturally gravitate to a 3 Series might now consider its bulkier brother.

While the abstrusely named Z4 sDrive28i is less powerful than its six-cylinder predecessor, I’m not missing those two extra chambers one bit.