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Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.

Euro-market Volvo C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge add efficiency, range

Volvo's tweaked the powertrain specs for the C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge in Europe in both front- and all-wheel-drive trims. (We don't get the FWD versions here, only the AWD models.) First reported by CarsUK as a rumor, Autocar dug into the details after the new models hit some EU configurators. The big change there is that the front-drivers are now rear-drivers, engineers moving the single motor to the rear axle in the name of efficiency. The battery in the single-motor cars stays the same size at 67 kWh, but motor output rises from 228 horsepower to 235 hp. Even better, the C40 Recharge goes from an estimated 270 miles on a charge to 296 miles, the XC40 Recharge goes from an estimated 260 miles on a charge to 286 miles on the WLTP cycle. The AWD Recharge Twin trims get a larger battery, swapping the 78-kWh unit (75 kWh usable) for a 82-kWh unit (78 kWh usable). Their motors put out the same combined 402 hp as before, but do so with a rear bias. Instead of each motor making 201 hp, the front motor makes 161 hp, the rear 241 hp. Their ranges climb even more, the C40 gaining 37 miles of range to go an estimated 315 miles on a charge, the XC40 adding 42 miles to go an estimated 311 miles on the WLTP cycle. Volvo also upped the fast charging capability for the Recharge from 150 kW to 200 kW. The upgrade cuts the charge time from 10% to 80% by 10 minutes, to 27 minutes, matching the time required for the single-motor trims with the smaller battery to refill the same amount. The revised models can be ordered in Europe now but won't go into production until next year, the Recharge versions in May, the single-motor versions in autumn. Prices are up about 10%. It's thought the Polestar 2 will be in line for the same changes. We asked Volvo USA about the revisions coming to the U.S., aand  spokesperson responded, "We will have more details to share on the U.S. offer at a later date."

Russian auto boomtown grinds to halt over Ukraine sanctions

Thousands of auto workers have been furloughed and food prices are soaring as Western sanctions pummel the small Russian city of Kaluga and its flagship foreign carmakers, with more sanctions likely to come. The Kaluga region, 190 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Moscow, says it has attracted more than 1.3 trillion roubles ($15 billion) in investment, mostly foreign, since 2006. But Western sanctions imposed in recent weeks after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine have exacerbated lingering component shortages and halted production at two flagship car plants, Germany's Volkswagen and Sweden's Volvo. A third, the PSMA Rus plant that is a joint venture between Stellantis and Mitsubishi and employs 2,000, may halt production soon due to a lack of parts, Stellantis' chief executive said last Thursday. "It is not clear what will happen. They don't give us any concrete information," said Pavel Terpugov, a welder at the PSMA Rus plant. Terpugov said he needs twice as much money to buy groceries than before the sanctions. Analysts have forecast Russian inflation could soar to 24% this year, while the economy may shrink to 2009 levels. The United States and Europe are weighing more sanctions against Russia after Ukraine accused Russian forces of civilian killings in northern Ukraine, where a mass grave was found in Bucha, outside Kyiv. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" and the Kremlin categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians, including in Bucha. One source of hope for some in Kaluga, with its 325,000 residents, is the West may be reluctant to hurt its own companies. "Does it make sense to impose sanctions on its own plant and lose money?" said Valery Uglov, an auto mechanic at the Volkswagen plant. "Does it make sense to lose the Russian market?" "We hope to return to work as soon as possible and everyone will have confidence in the future again," Uglov said. Volkswagen, whose factory employs 4,200 people, in early March suspended operations. A spokeswoman said production remained frozen. Volvo Group, which employs over 600 people to build trucks, also suspended production. Even before the sanctions, Russian car sales had contracted from 2.8 million units from when the Volkswagen factory opened in 2007 to 1.67 million units last year, damaged by both sanctions after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the COVID-19 pandemic.