MotorMouths

The Veloster is sexy. It’s also very practical in terms of rear-seat passenger ingress and egress, and in terms of cargo capacity. It’s an economy car, but it’s zippy for what it is.

The 2013 Volvo XC60 is a tough, safe, well-engineered, simply but beautifully designed wagon that can serve as a long-distance travel companion and family hauler over rough roads and in inclement weather.

The G37x coupe is a friend. It invites you along for the ride. It has one of the most attractive and ergonomically sensible interiors and infotainment control panels of any car in its class.

The Chrysler 200 will attract buyers who would not have considered its Sebring predecessor. It has a sleeker, sportier, richer look, and interior materials are among the best in the class.

The 2013 RDX truly lives up to the term “entry-level luxury.”

Practical” seems woefully uninteresting. But it does not have to be. It can be attractively styled inside and out. It can be comfortable, stately and elegant. “Practical” can be aspirational. Witness the 2013 Audi Allroad Quattro.

The 2012 Volvo S60 sedan is probably the best-looking car ever penned by Volvo. It’s an absolute delight on roads where you can come close to exploiting its potential without going to jail, a hospital, or both.

Kia’s DNA has always been to surprise, to give customers far more car than they expected to get at a price far lower than they expected to pay. The Optima SX T-GDI, loaded with practically every amenity and technology available in more expensive sedans, it is doing that.

The Abarth scoots. It’s addictive. It moves so fast and well, you want to drive it the longest way home. I loved driving it so much, especially in congested urban traffic, I didn’t mind accepting the risks suggested by NHTSA’s so-so crash-test results.

the JX35 is a beautiful wagon, fluid in exterior design, with jewel-like grille and headlamps. You are forced to look at it, an elegant motorized homage to affluence, or at least to the desire for same. And it gets the job done. I only wish that it would do it using less fuel.

Those willing to spend $32,000 for a large family sedan should get world-class safety, fit and finish, world-competitive exterior and interior design, and world-class performance (ride, acceleration, braking and handling). The 2012 Azera offers all those things.

The 2012 Audi A7 3.0 TFSI is a five-door, all-wheel-drive hatchback with the sporting looks of a luxury coupe — performance in passionate conjugation with utility, high style in elopement with practicality. And it even has the nerve to flirt with fuel economy!