There are roughly 150 new car models on the market today, many of them only narrowly distinguishable from each other. The sedans are flame-surfaced affairs with elongated roof-lines, and even the sporty coupes rely on huge grilles to trumpet
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Tesla Model S 60
It starts with the battery. Tesla’s is the best in the business, with 50 percent higher energy density by weight than the next closest EV competitor’s (Nissan Leaf). Though really, the Model S doesn’t have competitors, at least not directly. Because the battery offers so much capacity, the Model S needn’t compromise its mission with a bulky gas-powered range extender. You’ve heard the rationale behind Tesla’s purity movement: Having a single propulsion element, the motor, allows for more battery cells, which extends electric range, obviating the need for a Plan B, the internal-combustion engine.
Porsche Boxster / Cayman
We put an $80,000 base-price cap on 10Best contenders because, when it comes to building cars, money can solve most problems. As price rises beyond that mark, the number of bad cars approaches zero and the difference between great and merely good becomes increasingly trivial. You could say a similar thing about mid-engined cars. Put the power behind the driver and it’s hard to get it wrong.
That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling—most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much. Admittedly, the Boxster and Cayman easily blow past $80,000 when moderately optioned, but the inherent goodness of these cars is fully realized even at the Boxster’s $52,395 base price.
That explains why it can seem unfair to drive Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman back to back with 50-some other cars that are led by their horses. The mid-engined Porsche twins are so fundamentally different from the competition that considering them for a 10Best nod feels as if we’ve shattered our price ceiling—most of their architectural analogues cost three and four times as much. Admittedly, the Boxster and Cayman easily blow past $80,000 when moderately optioned, but the inherent goodness of these cars is fully realized even at the Boxster’s $52,395 base price.
Volkswagen Golf / GTI
The Swiss Army knife of transport, offering up multiple tools for your disposal.
Switzerland may be neutral, but its government still insists that its soldiers carry a Swiss Army knife. Maybe it’s because a Swiss soldier, having such intense non-action on his hands, requires a corkscrew for decanting that ’95 Moulin-à-Vent. And maybe those puny scissors are perfect for trimming curds at competitive fondue festivals. And that nifty can opener is surely what Colonel Nestlé needs to pry open a tax-free account in Geneva. By the way, Geneva is home to the Large Hadron Collider, which—few people realize this—was built entirely by four Swiss soldiers with very sharp Swiss Army knives.
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