Over the past year, we’ve traded keys and spent countless hours behind the wheels of many cars. That’s why we asked our contributors to dish details on their best – and worst – rides of the year. The answers span from every price range, manufacturer and vintage – with a few shockers you won’t expect.
Graeme Fletcher
The 2016 Porsche 911 Targa is one of Graeme Fletcher’s favourite rides of the year
Graeme Fletcher, Driving
My favourite ride proved to be a titanic struggle between the Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS and the Cadillac ATS-V. The Targa blends the best of the coupe and droptop worlds in a single vehicle that’s blindingly quick; it runs to 100 km/h at 4.3 seconds, while returning a highway fuel economy of 8.7 L/100 km – not too shabby.
My choice, however, was the ATS-V. From its twin-turbo 3.6-litre V6 with 464 horsepower and 445 lb.-ft. of torque, Magnetic Ride suspension and awesome Brembo brakes, to the Recaro seats, chunky steering wheel and paddle shifters – which functions regardless of whether the shifter is in drive or manual – this feature-rich car does not have to take a back seat to any Euro speedster.
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My worst experience was in a Ford Fusion SE. Not that it’s a bad car; rather, there was a technical glitch — the smart key got locked in the cabin. According to Ford, it’s “possible if the fob’s signal is weak, or is shielded in some way (metal encasement or interference) that the module wouldn’t recognize the fob in the car.” After that experience, the less-than-smart key stayed in my pocket.
Brendan McAleer
The positively adorable Autozam AZ-1 is positively joyful to drive
Brendan McAleer, Driving
Glancing back over this year’s log of some hundred-odd cars I managed to drive, the standouts are both really odd and extremely mundane. For instance, the flea-like Autozam AZ-1 provided a bizarre Lilliputian driving experience unlike anything else I’ve experienced, while a Ford Sierra Cosworth was a happy hooligan on a mountain road and a Citroën DS21 remains the single most comfortable vehicle I’ve ever driven. I also went ripping around in a Lamborghini Huracán during an actual hurricane, and that sort of thing sticks with you – mostly, it’s the ringing in the ears.
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Lost in the hills of Japan with the Mazda Miata
If I had to pick just one car to love, however, it’ll be the Mazda MX-5 Miata. I drove several of these this year, from the hills of Spain and the canyons of Hiroshima, to my favourite secret little backroad, and never once did I need more power, a bigger stereo or stickier tires. The Miata might not be total perfection in all applications, but sometimes, it’s all the car you could ever need or want.
Lesley Wimbush
Lesley Wimbush believes the 2016 Honda Fit is the closest thing you can get to a Swiss Army Knife on wheels – and she’s not wrong
Lesley Wimbush, Driving
What is your favourite car? That depends on an infinite number of variables and often, there is no answer. If you want to talk about the car that I think did the best job of fulfilling what it claims it does, I’d probably say the Honda Fit. It’s the closest thing you can buy to a closet organizer on wheels and priced within the realm of “real people” budgets.
Then there’s a special place in my heart for the “cheap and cheerful” hatchbacks that give so much but ask for so little. My personal favourite is the Nissan Micra – for the price of a used economy sedan, it isn’t only frugal, it’s actually fun to drive.
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By far the worst car I’ve driven this year was a friend’s 20-year-old Chrysler K-Car. Aside from its scabrous paint, mushy suspension and positively nebulous steering feel, I vote it as the car most likely to send you to the chiropractor.
David Booth
Just because it looks futuristic doesn’t mean the BMW i8 is a fantastic supercar
Derek McNaughton, Driving
This is a tough question. Most of my year was spent playing on racetracks with supercars like the LaFerrari and the rear-wheel-drive Lamborghini Huracán, so it’s kind of hard to complain. Nonetheless, we must choose a standout car of the last 12 months, so I will stick my neck out and choose the BMW i8 as the worst. Yup, the car that everyone is fêting as the future of the supercar, the roadster that combines BMW performance with near-Toyota Prius fuel economy left me more than a little cold.
Oh, it was more than competent, but it had a face only cosplay conventioneers could love: Give the winglets and scoops a rest will ya, BMW? And while it was fast enough — 4.4 seconds from a standstill to 100 km/h is not so shabby by any measure — it hardly qualified as the supercar all the environmental apologists proclaimed it to be. All this for a mere — yes, there’s a heap of sarcasm in that adjective — $150,000.
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For that money, I’m three-quarters the way to a well-outfitted Audi R8 with seven more pistons, a bunch more horsepower and an exhaust note that doesn’t sound like a fart in a bathtub.
Lorraine Sommerfeld
The Ford Fiesta ST makes a solid impression on pretty much anyone who drives one
Handout, Ford
I was pleasantly surprised by the Buick Verano; after some hit-and-miss campaigns to reassure me this isn’t my grandfather’s Buick, the Verano made the most headway. The GMC Canyon was another balm after the loss of the Ford Ranger – a little truck that not only could, but did. Its loss left the segment with a gaping hole and the Canyon is a nicely appointed small pickup that should move some buyers over. The Ford Fiesta ST had nobody in this house wanting to hand the keys back; it had spirit, style and an addictive ride.
Disappointments were truly few and far between; consumers have never had so many great options all over the place – from price point to efficiency to style – and I like competitive warranties and attentive recalls. All that said, I’ll probably never get over what Volkswagen has done to the trust I once had in them.
Brian Harper
Tearing up California’s canyon roads and the Laguna Seca racetrack is the stuff of dreams
Brian Harper, Driving
Favourites are many – lapping the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang at the Laguna Seca racetrack in California astounded many, myself included, with ferocious power yet a completely controllable nature. I recently spent one of those “Best. Days. Ever.” driving, in succession, a Volkswagen Golf R, Mini John Cooper Works, Cadillac ATS-V and CTS-V, Mercedes C 63 AMG, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and a Porsche Cayman GT4 while attending the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s annual TestFest. If I were rich enough to build a 10-car garage and fill it, every one of those cars would find a home next to my vintage BMW 507.
I finished that day with the new Mazda MX-5 Miata roadster and considered it my highlight, bounding over country roads with a playful abandon, top down and heat cranked full on to ward off the late-October chill. Unlike the others, each of which could get you in serious trouble with the law if over-exuberance is displayed at the wrong time, the MX-5’s brilliance lies with the fact it feels fast and composed even when you’re obeying the speed limit. Of course, in the spirit of objectivity, I own a previous-generation 2008 Miata.
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I dislike the term “least favourite.” I feel like a teacher handing out an F, so let me just say that I don’t see the Smart Fortwo as relevant as it once might have been. While vastly improved in drivability in comparison to its predecessor thanks to a new six-speed dual-clutch automatic, the funky microcar is still cramped inside – at least for those of us on the plus side of six feet – and it’s choppy over patched roads. Yes, it functions as a fuel-efficient downtown-core runabout, but there are other cute-and-cuddly small cars — Mini Cooper and Fiat 500, to name two — that are far roomier and better for longer-distance highway use, too.