In pictures: Most surprising and memorable cars of 2014
The world according to new-model introductions is as confounding as it is brilliant. How, for instance, is it possible for the Volkswagen Group, home to SEAT and VW Polos and Up! cars, to house a mass-production luxury brand that produces a high-zoot sedan capable of soothing and sparking oohs and ahhs? That's the Audi RS-7. How can an Indian conglomerate famous for building farm machinery and $2,000 Nanos be home to arguably the best-looking car of 2014 - and one of the most beautiful ever, perhaps? The Jaguar F-Type. How is that Ford, which just half a dozen years ago seemed to have run out of ideas and energy, could reach into its history and pull out a Mustang for the 21st century? This from the same auto maker that has the Fiesta EcoBoost, a terrific and amazingly fuel-efficient runabout. If you haven’t tried it, you should. Kia? Bankrupt 16 years ago, Kia now has two premium models and both, particularly the K900, are good and superb value. A 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat? Aren't muscle cars passé? Isn't the Tesla Model S battery car the present and future of the auto industry? Not so fast. The howling grunt of a V-8 capable of lighting up the rears, churning up great billowing clouds of utterly irresponsible smoke, still has its charms, especially on the race track. And while I do not believe Tesla as a car company has a brilliant future, no one with any sense would argue that the Model S has not changed the industry's way of thinking. Mercedes-Benz? As part of an unprecedented product surge, Mercedes unleashed the S63 AMG Coupe, one of a growing number of models in the S line and certainly the most entertaining. Please, consider 2014's surprising and delightful array of models:
2014 Audi RS 7: Pick one car to have 24/7, to be the daily driver, the Friday night glam-mobile, the Sunday bomb. Here it is: a twin-turbo V-8 (560 horsepower), quattro permanent all-wheel-drive, 0-100 km/h in less than four seconds and utterly comfortable anywhere. Love the shape of this four-door hatchback, too.
2015 Porsche Cayenne: Few in this life are handed the keys to a $128,200 Cayenne Turbo and invited to drive the lights out on a tough off-road circuit. As one of the few, I did it just outside of Barcelona, one of the world’s most incredible cities. The 520-hp, 279 km/h top speed Cayenne kicked up clouds of red dirt and took on goat trails with the skill of, well, a mountain goat. The car looks rich and rides on pavement like a sports car.
2015 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost: Ford’s pint-sized two-time Engine of the Year (2012, 2013) has the muscle of Popeye on a spinach binge with none of the Bluto bulk. Where the Hellcat’s V-8 is a beast, the Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost is strong and efficient, modern and innovative: direct fuel injection; turbocharging; variable valve timing; and creative engineering to keep a three-cylinder engine from wobbling. This is the future of high-performance cars.
2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat: Call me irresponsible; call me unpredictable; call me happy behind the wheel of a muscle car with a supercharged HEMI V-8 (707-hp/650 lb-ft of torque). This beast is as furiously fast as my ability and courage would allow – an act of pure automotive hedonism by Fiat-Chrysler’s Dodge brand. Enjoy it while you can.
2015 Jaguar F-Type coupe: The so-so interior is excused because the rest of the car is something Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci would have struggled to come up with. Such an alluring work of engineering and art. A senior Jag designer said the F-Type “represents what Jaguar design is all about.” That’s setting the bar high for future Jags.
2015 Kia K900: Cynics and snobs need to drive this car in its most expensive form back to back with the bargain-basement versions of a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a BMW 5-Series and a Lexus GS. The Kia is a better car for less money, sans the badging. The brand doesn’t have the same weight as the heavy-hitting Germans, but if you take the cars on merit alone, Kia has done the seemingly impossible.
2015 Ford Mustang: This is as close to a rear-drive sports car as the Mustang has ever been. Tight steering, poised handling, drama-free responses and three engines, including a 2.3-litre EcoBoost for the environmentalists who still want a pony car. And the design is all “Americana.”
2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe: Here’s a coupe fast enough to impress Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One world champion. The 585-hp turbo V-8 is a gem all the way from zero to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. It’s quiet, composed, holds corners with aplomb and inside, a massive colour display screen shows navigation maps in three dimensions. A triumph.
2014 Tesla Model S: This is a refined battery car, an example of what’s possible in zero-emission transportation. Every car company has taken notice. So the Model S is hugely important. But unless Tesla comes up with billions of dollars not on its balance sheet today, unless it overcomes a staggering list of barriers to global expansion, then it does not have a future in an industry where the biggest players generate a couple of hundred billion in revenue each year. Admire the car, but be wary of the overhyped company and its shares.