Car and Driver Announces “Best10” for 2010

Each year, the well-respected Car and Driver magazine holds a “10Best” competition, where the editors get together and discuss which models deserve to be in the top ten for the year, based on various criteria. The cars don’t have to be ultra-expensive in order to place, but rather deliver the goods for its given price-range, and come off as an exciting car in general. This year, the magazine raised the price cap from $71,000 to $80,000, as it believes that $80K and higher is the revised point where you will begin to see diminishing returns.

The top 10 list this year is surprisingly not much different than last year’s, which could be considered “boring” or a good thing, depending on your perspective. The repeats this year include two models from Honda, the Accord and Fit. I’ll agree on the Accord’s placing, as for one thing, it’s straight-out a great-looking car, and looks much more expensive than it is. I’m not entirely enthralled over the back-end of recent Accord’s, but I have no major complaints. The Fit, on the other hand… I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of the new-age “youthful” designs.

Also making a comeback is the BMW 3-series, in particular the 328i sedan. As much as I’m a Bimmer fan, I’m not much into sedans, but it’s hard to beat this one. It looks good, delivers 30+ MPG on the highway and has a reasonable 230HP engine to push you around all day. The magazine also mentions the M3, which is a great upgrade, as the engine becomes a 414HP V8 monster. I get chills just thinking about pushing this one to the red.

Other repeat entrants include the Cadillac CTS/CTS-V, Mazda MX-5 Miata (I can’t believe it, either), Porsche Boxster / Cayman and also Volkswagen’s GTI. The newbies to the group include the Mazda 3 (this should have been disqualified if for no other reason than it’s ridiculous front-end), Audi S4 and also Ford’s Fusion Hybrid, which oddly enough, happens to be the most technologically advanced car on the list. Just don’t tell the Cayman that.

There are faster cars, and ones with more horsepower, but the 3-series has earned a long list of comparison-test victories and now a 19th-consecutive 10Best appearance because of the instant confidence it imparts to the driver, making pushing a little harder completely comfortable. It’s the extraordinary precision and response of the perfectly weighted steering, the smooth predictability of the unwavering chassis, the optional sport seats that adjust and embrace in all the right ways, the slick six-speed manual transmissions, the firm but never harsh ride. In short, it’s the car we’d like to drive every day.