From the January 2024 issue of Car and Driver.
Our ultimate comparison test is the annual 10Best awards. Once again, we gathered every new and significantly changed vehicle we could get our hands on with a base price below $110,000. What makes 10Best distinct is that we bring back the reigning winner to compete against the new challengers, allowing the former to defend their spots on the list. By mixing last year’s best with everything new, the 10Best list represents the best cars for sale this year and not just the best of what’s new.
We spent two weeks driving the entire field, moving from one vehicle to the next, stopping only to take notes or discuss the vehicle with our fellow editors. Voting differs from our other comparison tests in that 10Best boils down the entire vehicle to a number between 1 and 100 instead of scoring various categories. In a nod to how it’s done in figure skating, we toss the highest and lowest scores before the testing team puts the rest into a spreadsheet to determine the 10Best Cars—and, separately, the 10Best Trucks and SUVs.
Click each individual car to get the full story, or keep reading to find out more about the 2024 10Best cars.
Acura Integra Type S
A performance car that can fry your synapses on a canyon run or a high-speed blast down an empty highway is a thrill, but what about one that can do that and elevate everyday driving into something special—one with a chassis that combines responsive handling with a livable ride and a spirited powertrain with commute-friendly fuel economy? Add a four-adult cabin and the versatility to carry a good bit of cargo, and a do-it-all machine like that could serve as an enthusiast’s only car. Hot hatches have long fried a synapse, but rarely do they hold all those values, particularly now, with the market moving to ever more luxurious sports cars, SUVs, and EVs. With the Integra Type S, Acura resurrects a past nameplate and reminds us what makes the whole idea of a hot hatch that was more for adults than boy racers so great.
Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
What do the 1990s Chicago Bulls and the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing have in common? You never get tired of watching them win.
The CT4-V Blackwing has just three-peated 10Best, and for good reason. This sports sedan is one of the best driver’s cars on the market today, right up there with its sibling, the CT5-V Blackwing (also a three-time 10Best winner). It looks good, it sounds good, and it’s something we’d have no trouble living with—we did for 40,000 miles.
It starts with the 472-hp twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V-6, which in its loudest setting emits all manner of pops and burbles, meaning we have no choice but to run the bent-six to redline over and over. While it’s immensely capable with its optional 10-speed automatic transmission, we say skip the $3175 upcharge and stick with the, er, stick. Its precise engagement only adds to the sensory assault at full send. And sending the Blackwing gives you some of the most rewarding driving this side of the six-figure mark. As a bonus, manual-equipped CT4-V Blackwings get titanium connecting rods.
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Like its CT4-V sibling, the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing has returned to collect its third 10Best award. Since that is no small feat for any car, the CT5-V Blackwing is clearly worth every bit of praise dedicated to it.
When was the last time you drove a sedan capable of breaking the rear tires loose at highway speeds on dry pavement? With a 668-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 whining under the hood and imitating a Spanish galleon’s cannon fire through the tailpipes, the CT5-V Blackwing is like bringing a thermonuclear device to a knife fight. It is more than you will ever need. But boy howdy, do we want all of it.
And given what the Blackwing will take from you, you’re going to have to want it. At $96,990, it costs as much as one and a half CT4-V Blackwings. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 13 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, numbers that will undoubtedly cascade once you realize how much fun the last half of the gas pedal’s travel can be.
Chevrolet Corvette/Corvette E-Ray
It should come as no surprise that Chevrolet’s Corvette has earned another 10Best trophy. After all, it’s now made the list 25 times, trailing only the Honda Accord as the all-time leading recipient of our most prestigious award.
Like so many things in today’s world, the Corvette’s price continues to rise. This mid-engine beast is now in its fifth production year, and the cost of entry has crept up $10,000 since the car’s introduction, albeit to a still relatively attainable $69,995—a remarkable value for a car that masterfully blends multiple personalities. Flog it at the track on Saturday, then cruise to church in it on Sunday. Why only drive it when the weather’s warm? Mount some winter tires and drive it year-round. It won’t care.
Sadly, this year’s price spike pushed the high-revving Corvette Z06 above our $110,000 price cap (by $4395). We suspect a few grand won’t deter potential buyers from that 670-hp 5.5-liter V-8–powered wild child, but rules are rules.
Honda Accord
If there were a Mount Rushmore of cars, a likeness of the Accord would be George Washington. Honda’s stalwart sedan has long been a towering example of smart engineering, a clear-eyed and consistent vision of what a great family sedan should be. This is the 38th time the Accord has earned a 10Best spot since our award’s 1983 inaugural year, the most of any model from any manufacturer. The reason for the Accord’s winning streak is simple but one that’s hard for other companies to duplicate: continuous improvement of a single model over decades.
While most OEMs make incremental improvements, Honda seemingly has a sixth sense for nailing the family-car formula. Generational upgrades have resulted in the Accord becoming bigger, roomier, nimbler, more powerful, quicker, more fuel efficient, more luxurious, better equipped, and more fun to drive. This layer cake of continuous development has made the current 11th-generation model a delicious confection.
Honda Civic
It’s hard not to love the Honda Civic. The product range covers a lot of ground, and all of them are fantastic in the context of their individual missions. Whatever drove you to a Honda dealer in the first place, there’s a Civic to match your lifestyle and financial plan.
Looking for a high-mileage commuter that doesn’t break the bank? The base LX or Sport sedan with a 2.0-liter engine will do nicely. Want a bit more oomph and better appointments for not that much more coin? The EX and Touring models with the turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four are your jam. Prefer a four-door hatchback? Sure, they’ve got those. Want to shift it yourself? The Sport and Sport Touring hatchback models give you three pedals, and if you want a manual performance sedan on a budget, the 200-hp Civic Si is right over here. You can even get it with summer tires.
Lucid Air Pure
We’re living in a triple-tiered subscription-based world. Gold members get a free bottle of water at check-in. Platinum status lets you board the plane sooner than others. Diamond members, well, they can do just about anything as long as the cops aren’t watching. The idea seems to be to make you want more. That’s what makes the Lucid Air Pure such a fresh take. It’s the most affordable version of an impressive EV. Yet even at this lowest tier, it delivers better EPA range than the most expensive or longest-range electrics from Tesla, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, or any other EV maker in the market. And the all-wheel-drive Pure’s slightly shorter range still exceeds the distance some gas-fed cars can go before refueling. For those reasons, and many others, both Air Pure variants earn our 10Best award.
But before we dump an entire five-gallon bucket of data and EV vocabulary on your head, let us first explain why the $78,975 Air Pure ($83,975 in all-wheel-drive form) is worth savoring. The Pure only sacrifices what’s easy to live without. It wears a body-colored metal roof instead of glass, the frunk lid isn’t powered, the front seats aren’t ventilated, and the windshield isn’t heated.
Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman
No handicapper would have offered underdog odds on the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman making our 10Best list for the 19th time in a row. Only twice since its first year of eligibility in 1998 has a form of Porsche’s mid-engine sports car failed to make the cut. Even the 10Best fixture Honda Accord has missed four times during its longer eligibility, and although the Chevrolet Corvette ties the Boxster with 25 all-time wins, it has failed to reach the list no fewer than 15 times. Judging by success rate, the Porsches are 10Best’s brightest stars.
This is a special kind of excellence, though even as we award another title, it is impossible to deny that the present-generation 718 is showing its age. The current Boxster and Cayman launched as 2017 models, and their interior design is closer to that of the 991-generation 911 than the 992. The 7.0-inch touchscreen’s fuzzy graphics feel unexceptional, though the analog gauges still look rich.
That all barely matters because the Boxster and Cayman continue to exemplify the greatest sports-car virtues. These are cars without slop, hesitation, or apparent filter between man and machine. They make mundane errands feel truly special.
Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86
As the SUV-ification of the auto market continues unabated and mega-horsepower EVs quickly become the new hotness in the high-performance space, the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86 look more and more like outliers. Small, light, naturally aspirated, and manually shifted, this delightfully analog duo flies in the face of many current trends, and they’re all the better for it.
Not merely a tonic to prevailing winds, these sports cars are exciting in their own right. During our 10Best testing, the GR86 was often just as quick through the challenging sections as more powerful and more expensive contenders—some vastly so. With their lithe handling, faithful steering, predictable behavior, and plentiful feedback, the GR86 and BRZ encourage you to push harder.
Toyota Prius
You may be unsurprised to learn that 10Best voters praised the Toyota Prius for its “sleek, daringly styled hatchback bodywork.” But—record scratch—those plaudits were from 20 years ago when the 2004 Prius first made the 10Best list. That second-generation car became synonymous with “hybrid” and cemented the geek-chic appeal of a wild shape married to superlative fuel economy. It only took two decades, but Toyota has recaptured that very specific mix and added something to appeal to our enthusiast hearts: muscle.
If you wanted to drive a 220-hp Prius in 2004, you’d probably begin by scavenging junkyards for a Ford Taurus SHO V-6. Now, you simply climb into a Prius Prime and push the start button. The Prime hits 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, a showing that goes a long way toward justifying its Lamborghini-like windshield angle. The base car isn’t far behind, its 194 horsepower good for a 7.1-second run to 60. The 196-hp all-wheel-drive model seems aimed right at the hearts of Subaru owners. But surely a car that’s this quick and looks concept-car futuristic costs a ton of money, right? Nope. Prices start at less than $30K and barely breach the $40K barrier for a fully loaded Prime. Prius haters, it seems, don’t have a lot of material to work with these days.