People are also reading…
Winter-weather winners
2021 Volvo V90
With excellent interior materials and a sleek exterior look, the Volvo V90 wagon feels classy whether you’re staring at it in your driveway or you’re driving it to work. The V90 has abundant cargo space and a comfortable ride on the highway, plus it offers a few sporty options if you want your drive to be more entertaining. All-wheel drive comes with the V90’s more powerful T6 engine, which makes 316 horsepower. Go with the R-Design trim level and you’ll get sportier suspension calibration, sport front seats, and paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Not bad for a family wagon that will easily see you through the winter months. Starting MSRP: $58,795.
2021 Toyota Sienna
You might think an SUV is the only way to get all-wheel drive and lots of family-duty versatility. But Toyota has offered all-wheel drive on its Sienna minivan for more than a decade now. That’s also true for the redesigned 2021 Sienna. Notably, the Sienna is now exclusively a hybrid. Its four-cylinder hybrid powertrain isn’t overly powerful — it has 245 horsepower — but it does provide an attractive EPA-estimated 35-36 mpg in combined city/highway driving.
2021 Kia K5
The Kia K5 should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for something with a spacious trunk, a roomy cabin, and a comfortable ride on the highway. The K5 name might be unfamiliar — it’s an all-new sedan that replaces Kia’s previous midsize sedan, the Optima. But don’t let the newness throw you off.
2020 Porsche 911
A sports car for the winter time? You can do it with the Porsche 911. Naturally, the 911 is engaging to drive thanks to its rapid acceleration and communicative handling. Yet with its small but useful back seat, comfortable highway ride and wealth of available driver safety aids, it’s also one of the best daily-driver sports cars out there.
All-wheel drive is standard on the Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S trim levels, which have 379 horsepower and 443 horsepower, respectively. So, yes, the 911 is up to the task of winter driving. The only issue you might have is whether you can stomach sending your $100,000 Porsche out into the muck. Starting MSRP: $107,850.
Mazda 3
The Mazda 3 is one of the most refined and enjoyable small cars to drive. Mazda offers two body styles: a regular sedan or a hatchback with more cargo space. You can get both with all-wheel drive. Look for a Mazda 3 in the 2.5 S trim level or the new-for-2021 2.5 Turbo. All-wheel drive is optional on the 2.5 S and standard on the 2.5 Turbo. The 2.5 S has a 186-horsepower four-cylinder engine, while the 2.5 Turbo offers 250 horsepower. The Mazda 3 doesn’t have as much rear legroom as other top small cars such as the Honda Civic, but what it does have is useful enough for adults on short journeys. Starting MSRP: $25,045.
Rust in peace
Buick Regal
In the pantheon of cool Buick names like Invicta and Electra, this Opel import with the blue-hair name was doomed from the start, although its remarkably unremarkable personality didn't help.
Acura RLX
A perfectly anonymous car with an equally anonymous name, the RLX is a stark reminder of how far Acura's product development and marketing has fallen from the excellence established by the Legend.
Alfa Romeo 4C
Now that America has become a nation of SUV-loving truck drivers, where dreary practicality triumphs over sheer fun, pure sports cars like the fun-to-drive 4C are sadly overlooked also-rans.
BMW i8
You'd think a gas-electric hybrid as attractive as the BMW i8, with handling to match, would succeed. But $147,500 for a car powered by the Mini's three-cylinder engine? Really?
Chevrolet Impala
While car buyers think nothing of buying enormous SUVs, they think twice about buying a large car, even one as good as the Impala. That said, a more inspired design would have helped.
Cadillac CT6
With a name only a lifeless marketer would love, this flagship sedan was sabotaged by tepid styling that lacked the Escalade's unmitigated swagger, and a cabin far too cheap for its station.
Chevrolet Sonic
With exorbitant gasoline prices now a distant memory, this funky and fun little hatchback lost its raison d'etre. Its platform lives on, however, in the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore.
Ford Fusion
Ford may blame lack of buyer interest with killing the Fusion. The absence of any meaningful update for years has much more to do with it. A sad, self-inflicted end to a well-respected and popular car.
Dodge Grand Caravan
Cheap to buy and very practical, but the end has come for this minivan after 35 years as Dodge focuses on performance-oriented products. Its replacement, the Chrysler Voyager, is now on sale.
Dodge Journey
Outclassed in every respect except for its low price and archaic Ultradrive four-speed automatic transmission, this sad relic of the DaimlerChrysler era is thankfully seeing its journey come to an end.
Honda Fit
Its beauty was its utility, which was far larger than its size suggested thanks to the flexibility of its seating system. And it was unexpectedly fun to drive, something rarely said of cheap utilitarian cars.
Honda Civic Coupe
While the whole sport compact scene grew out of cars like the Civic Coupe, its time has come and gone, as buyers are unwilling to put up with an iota of inconvenience in the name of fashion.
Jaguar XE
Like the X-Type before it, this entry-level British sports sedan never possessed the requisite grace, pace and space needed to steal buyers away from the BMW 3-Series.
Lincoln Continental
Developed using a front-wheel-drive Ford Fusion platform to save money and lacking the requisite aura of the concept car that foreshadowed it. The Continental's fate was sealed from the start.
Lincoln MKZ
This gussied-up Ford Fusion with a crummy name was bound to exit once the Fusion did. Aside from seniors who liked nabbing a Lincoln at a low price, the MKZ was never special enough.
Lexus GS
Always the middle child, never as popular as the Lexus LS or ES sedans. Toyota President Akio Toyoda wanted to kill the GS in 2011. Executives saved the car, but sales never improved. Now, Akio gets his wish.
Jaguar XF Sportbrake
If you thought that the idea of a Jaguar station wagon seemed a bit off, you're not alone, even though this was a fabulously fun-to-drive alternative to the overwhelming overabundance of SUVs.
Mercedes-Benz SL
Mercedes-Benz has killed the two-seat SL-Class, but online reports speculate that the renowned roadster could return as a 2+2 for 2022, built by Mercedes-AMG.
Mercedes-Benz SLC
With buyers ignoring everything except SUVs, this cut-rate convertible is circling the block for the last time, still in need of the upscale elan, space and build quality that its larger siblings possess.
Toyota Yaris
Americans hate subcompacts, especially when gas prices are low. So even though this disguised rendition of the Mazda2 is fun to drive, downsized cars are DOA.
