From the January 2014 Issue of Car and Driver
There are a lot of bests out there—best summer movies, best places to live, best pizza joints within two miles of your current location. Our 10Best award is not one of those. These are cars we’re talking about, people. We actually test these things.
For a full week each fall, we lock the office, turn off our phones, and engage in the most comprehensive and focused driving in the car-evaluation business.
Editors flog a dozen cars a day on the street and the track to determine everything from turn-in fidelity to the quality of a seat latch. What emerges is the fullest picture extant of the best cars on the market for under $80,000. These are the vehicles that offer the most value, that elegantly and comprehensively fulfill their missions, and that engage their drivers in spirited conversation. They are not always the newest or the trendiest, but they are the consistent overachievers. Cars like these don’t escape from manufacturer focus groups all that often.
Which is why this year is so special. Five all-new cars replace a few stalwarts, redefining excellence for the entire industry. And fully half of our awardees start under $25,000. The following pages tell the whole story—how we drove and how we argued over and how we finally determined the winners. We think you’ll find that most are available within a two-mile radius of your location.
