MotorMouths

If you want a refined compact car that has everything you and your smartphone need and not 1 cubic foot more, there’s a case to be made for the ILX over the larger, less efficient cars in this price range.

The A7 is pretending to be a coupe, and a particularly graceful one at that. It looks better than most luxury sedans, and it drives like a big A5. It may not be elite enough for the millionaires sunning themselves on Costa Smeralda, but it’s the classiest car in the Audi lineup.

We really like the 2012 BMW 328i as a luxury sedan. It’s very quick, spacious, elegant, fuel-efficient, and if we want to explore some back road, the capability is there.

We really like the 2012 BMW 328i as a luxury sedan. It’s very quick, spacious, elegant, fuel-efficient, and if we want to explore some back road, the capability is there.

The four-door BMW 6 Series is a beautiful car for sure. We’re hopeless plebeians, though, so we advise waiting until BMW puts more engine in this car and retunes the chassis underneath it to make it feel as good as it looks.

The 2011 Dodge Charger R/T has a more refined ride than its predecessor, and its handling is honest and secure. Its cabin has finally made the leap from the 1990s and offers both quality materials and the modern technology you expect in this price range.

Amngst competitors, the 2011 Dodge Durango stands apart as the lone SUV that offers a V8 option and bona fide towing capability, but it isn’t the quickest or the most fuel-efficient, and it certainly doesn’t have the roomiest seating.

It may not be able to beat the Toyota Prius V at the packaging game, but the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid is certainly the better car on the road. It’s much quicker, it handles better, it steers more precisely, and it just feels more like a real car more of the time.

Buying a minivan isn’t an easy thing to do. It’s a rite of passage to the un-hip, elasticized-waist side of parenthood. However, if you’re a real car lover and you drive a 2011 Honda Odyssey with an open heart, you’re not going to choose a crossover over this van.

The 2012 Hyundai Accent is not a cheerless subcompact for the worker bee who can’t afford anything better. It is the kind of car that inspires said bee to get out and see the country when he’s not working.

The 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec is certainly the best Genesis Coupe to date. It’s quick, it sounds wonderful, it handles well, it’s comfortable enough to drive every day, and in time we’ll get used to the fake hood vents (maybe).

As it is, this 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS is still a good deal for $20,000. But a good deal isn’t necessarily a great drive. We can’t help but feel that the 2011 Sonata could have been this car if Hyundai had felt comfortable charging a little more for it.