Car And Driver 10 Best Cars for 2023

[Supraboi7]

Yeah I guess they didn’t specify best for what. I just assume “best” means line em up and put them on a track . Wrong assumption ofc. My wife absolutely loves her GTI. I personally wouldn’t track it over my Supra. So no dissing the front wheel drive family but when Honda made the S2000, I went out and bought one. With @Supraboi7 100% - ability to power those rear wheels is a must for any “best” list Imo

S2000 is a beast and yeah “best” for what matters like you said. Best for saving money, best for saving gas? Sure! But if Honda made 2 versions of the S2000, one is RWD and one is FWD, y’all are telling me some of you other commenters would pick FWD?!

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[FLtrackdays]

S2000 is a beast and yeah “best” for what matters like you said. Best for saving money, best for saving gas? Sure! But if Honda made 2 versions of the S2000, one is RWD and one is FWD, y’all are telling me some of you other commenters would pick FWD?!

Wow! Never thought of it like that…. damnnnnn that‘s a valid point. I’ll give the GR Corolla some credit with the ability to select how much power can be delivered front to back. But the name Corolla . Couldn’t they have given it a different name??? Like GR-C (we all know it’s a Corolla but don’t tell )

 

[Supraboi7]

Wow! Never thought of it like that…. damnnnnn that‘s a valid point. I’ll give the GR Corolla some credit with the ability to select how much power can be delivered front to back. But the name Corolla . Couldn’t they have given it a different name??? Like GR-C (we all know it’s a Corolla but don’t tell )

Agree the GR Corolla being AWD scores lots of points for me, tho hot hatches aren’t really my thing. Yes why couldn’t they have pulled the wool over my eyes and tricked me with the name

 

[puzzled]

Honda was cool at one time.. long time ago.

 

[B58_ hwAyaq]

S2000 is a beast and yeah “best” for what matters like you said. Best for saving money, best for saving gas? Sure! But if Honda made 2 versions of the S2000, one is RWD and one is FWD, y’all are telling me some of you other commenters would pick FWD?!

That’s not the best comparison. The question should be:

RWD, 240hp/152tq , 2850lb 2 seater, for $51,400 MSRP (inflation adjusted) (s2000)

OR

FWD, 241hp/273tq, 3120lb 4dr hatchback for $30,000 MSRP

Constraints - you need (or would like) to be able to carry more than one passenger, and you can’t spend more than say $35k.

Most enthusiasts are not going to say FWD is superior, but when one has hauling and budget constraints, the only car(s) that meet the above criteria would be the 86 cars, and that’s a tough(er) sell for those who can only have or would only like one car. Also, the base pony cars, I guess, but that comes with its own (social) cons.

For many activities (daily driving, rolls, drag strip), the easy of tuning turbo warm/hot hatches will upset the 86 cars (and base pony cars)

Warm/Hot hatches get you access to all motorsports activities as the 86 cars except drifting with the daily usability of turbo torque curves. Warm/hot hatches are even more self-sufficient at track days being able to haul more support equipment.

If none of this makes sense, you’re not their target market, but there are observable performance-per-dollar data points here.

 

[Crypto79]

Yeah the civic type r may be more engaging and nimble than the Z, but ultimately it’s a sporty version of an economy car. The Z is just a low effort, lazy recycled performance car.

Also Based on a economy car

 

[Supraboi7]

Also Based on a economy car

Exactly

 

[kaj]

Well front wheel drive cars have come a long way and they’re the best they’ve ever been, but given the choice between rear and front most would choose rear drive. Rear has better driving dynamics

Well, yeah. I don't think any enthusiast would choose FWD over anything else. I don't think anyone here is saying otherwise. My post was in reply to the thread I quoted only. On a side note, I had an Integra Type R back in 2001 and it was more fun to drive than anything else I could find at the time (here in the U.S.). I just LOL to myself any time someone basically says FWD cars are grocery getters and can't be fast.

Honda was cool at one time.. long time ago.

Well, they are still doing fast things, so there's that. Maybe not cool, but one on Hoosiers sure gave me a run for my money during a track day.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Honda was cool at one time.. long time ago.

Dammit…. I had to think on that and yeah. I still love Honda for the S2K. But damnnnnn it’s been soooooooo long ago . The brand is hurting for a modern “Supra” or S2K today. Even crappy GM has the Corvette! No offense to anyone who has one of their regular line up rentals, but at least they have the Vette to make everyone believe there is some track DNA in their malibu.

My image of Toyota has totally changed. And if they actually started a whole series (like MX5) racing and beating the crap out of their cars, finding all the flaws, then it’s a no brainer to feel more confident in that brand. Hence my earlier comment on my one brand loyalty (for Mazda). Those MX5 can take a beating on track!

 

[puzzled]

Dammit…. I had to think on that and yeah. I still love Honda for the S2K. But damnnnnn it’s been soooooooo long ago . The brand is hurting for a modern “Supra” or S2K today. Even crappy GM has the Corvette! No offense to anyone who has one of their regular line up rentals, but at least they have the Vette to make everyone believe there is some Vette DNA in their malibu.

My image of Toyota has totally changed. And if they actually started a whole series (like MX5) racing and beating the crap out of their cars, finding all the flaws, then it’s a no brainer to feel more confident in that brand. Hence my earlier comment on my one brand loyalty (for Mazda). Those MX5 can take a beating on track!

The only real Honda's to me were the Teg-R and S2K .. pre 2010 cars. No thanks to all Hondas made in the USA. I hate their people I had to work with..but again, no one asked for my opinion.. MX5 ND's were cool for sure. I missed out buying one as I did the S2KCR.. I bought a 370Z at the time, the most stupid mistake of all time.

 

[Natedawg]

The only real Honda's to me were the Teg-R and S2K .. pre 2010 cars. No thanks to all Hondas made in the USA. I hate their people I had to work with..but again, no one asked for my opinion.. MX5 ND's were cool for sure. I missed out buying one as I did the S2KCR.. I bought a 370Z at the time, the most stupid mistake of all time.

The new civic type R is made in Japan. Previous gen was built in the UK. TBH I hate the s2000 for many of reasons. I'd take a new type r over a 4cyl supra and majority cars out today. 6cyl supra tho I'd take over a type R.

The new type r really doesn't drive like a fwd car.

 

[FLtrackdays]

The new civic type R is made in Japan. Previous gen was built in the UK. TBH I hate the s2000 for many of reasons. I'd take a new type r over a 4cyl supra and majority cars out today. 6cyl supra tho I'd take over a type R.

The new type r really doesn't drive like a fwd car.

Hear ya brother. Lotta peeps hated how “squirrly” the S2K was. I loved it! But I did have a coach (continually shutting off all the nannies) and it was sooooooooo much fun learning how to control that tail!!!!! But on the street it would have probably sucked try to keep those revs above 4K.

As far as front wheel drive, it’s mega hard on track to power on in a turn with the weight being thrown to the rear. And I get it, not a lot of guys will be tracking their “10 best cars”, never noticing things like that.

 

[jchadwell]

Even crappy GM has the Corvette! No offense to anyone who has one of their regular line up rentals, but at least they have the Vette to make everyone believe there is some track DNA in their malibu.

If I had it to do over again I would NOT have chosen the optional LS1 for my DD Malibu. It really alters the cars near 50/50 weight distribution and adds a little too much understeer for my tastes.

 

[GMsuperfan]

Yeah I guess they didn’t specify best for what. I just assume “best” means line em up and put them on a track . Wrong assumption ofc. My wife absolutely loves her GTI. I personally wouldn’t track it over my Supra. So no dissing the front wheel drive family but when Honda made the S2000, I went out and bought one. With @Supraboi7 100% - ability to power those rear wheels is a must for any “best” list Imo

My "daily" '17 GTI hurts a lot of feelings, handles Tail of the Dragon just fine as well. Sticky tires helps a ton with hook up, i rarely have an issue. It punches WAY above its class. It's also super practical and you can fit a ton of crap in it.

 

[B58_ hwAyaq]

you can fit a ton of crap in it.

Yes.

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