Recommended New Cars

Only test-driven new cars which manage to impress us are chosen Criteria In today's competitive car market, there are no truly bad cars any more. It is much harder to choose the "best" car, so it becomes necessary to dig through the best of the best to find the most compelling offerings for your money. 2006 BMW 330i Expensive little runner but nothing can touch it in drive. There is a reason why the 3-Series is considered the benchmark for sports-sedan handling, without the penalty of losing ride comfort. Its competitors are still playing catch-up. 2008 Chevrolet CSV CR8 A car this big cannot be any more exciting than this. Packing aggressive looks, a huge V8, rear-wheel-drive, great handling and, of all things, a manual gearbox, this thing offers no excuses for either side of the practicality-sportiness argument. 2007 Ford Explorer V6 Safety-packed off-roadable comfort-cruiser that's priced to surprise. It may boast a pathetic engine, a plasticky cabin, a boring exterior and an embarrassing taste for petrol, but it defeats its rivals with an overkill of safety features in its class at a value-packed price. 2007 Honda Civic Easily the most entertaining commuter car in the market. It looked like something that was ten years ahead of its time when it first came out. With decent handling, solid fuel economy and good cabin space, it remains a top contender among compacts. 2006 Kia Optima V6 Well-built underappreciated midsizer that kills the Japanese in value. It burns almost as much petrol as a V6 Japanese sedan that offers twice as much power. However, this V6 Korean machine is offered at the same price as Japanese 4-cylinder rivals. 2006 Nissan Tiida Spacious Euro-style hatchback that puts Audi to shame. While it may not boast tons of premium cabin materials, the point is it all looks rather upscale for an economy car, with enough space and performance to rival basic midsize sedans. 2006 Range Rover Supercharged Stupidly pricey but you get what you pay for. As a design, it has no shortcomings. It may not boast a perfect reliability record in recent times, but when you can afford something as unique as this British stalwart, you better not whine about maintenance costs. 2006 Renault Sport Megane The most well-rounded affordable speedster ever. Among hot hatches, certain generic German brands seem to get all the credit when the French are perfectly capable of bettering them, and that too at a lower price. Probably similar reliability too. 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser VX-R Looks like a doofus but drives like a king. It looks hideous, but it has finally overcome its truck-like behaviour to become a rather good all-rounder in terms of comfort, handling, performance and space, but only if you go all-out on expensive options. Criteria for the Editor's Choice Recommended list of tested cars Factors taken into account: Price and overall value Ride quality and comfort Build quality and materials Engine characteristics On-road handling ability Off-road ability for 4WDs Pleasantness of styling Factors not taken into account: Future reliability History of previous models Quality of dealer service Country of origin Snob value of brand Personal bias against company