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The best cars we drove this year

Six hundred and fifty. That's roughly how many cars pass through the hands of Autoblog editors every year, from the vehicles we test here at home, to the cars we drive on new product launches, testing roundups, long-term cars, and so on. Of course, our individual numbers vary due to several reasons, but at the end of the day, our team's repertoire of automotive experience is indeed vast. But let's be honest, some cars certainly stand out more than others. So as the year's about to turn, and as we're readying brand-new daily cat calendars for our cubicles, our editors are all taking time to reflect on the machinery that made this year so special, with one simple, open-ended question as the guide – a question that we're asked quite frequently, from friends, family, colleagues, and more. "What's the best car you drove this year?" Lamborghini Huracan When I review the list of everything I drove in 2014, picking an absolute favorite becomes almost impossible. I mean, how does one delineate between the joy offered by cars as different as the Alfa Romeo 4C, Volkswagen Golf R, Mercedes-AMG GT S and even the humble-yet-wonderful Chevy Colorado? Okay fine, I'll just pick the Lamborghini. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 on a racetrack, in the mountains, and along southern coast of Spain. It felt like the king of the car jungle in all of those places, sucking the eyeballs of observers nearly out of their heads as it drove by, and almost melting my brain with its cocktail of speed and grip and intense communication. It feels a little easy to say that the one new supercar I drove this year was also my favorite, but the fact is that the Huracan is one of the finest cars I've driven during my career, let alone 2014. Judge me if you must. – Seyth Miersma Senior Editor Rolls-Royce Wraith There are a couple of ways to look at the question, "What's the best car you drove this year?" In terms of what was so good I'd go out and buy one tomorrow, that'd be my all-time sweetheart, the Volkswagen GTI. Or if I'm just talking about sheer cool-factor, maybe something like the Galpin GTR1, BMW i8, or Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. But instead, I'm going to write about the sheer opulence of being the best of the best. The hand-crafted, holier-than-thou, shut-your-mouth-when-I'm-talking-to-you supremacy. I'm picking the Rolls-Royce Wraith. I drove the Wraith for a week in April, and was really, really impressed. This car does everything, perfectly.

The diesel premium in our Jaguar XE quickly pays for itself

Our long-term 2017 Jaguar XE 20d AWD recently returned from a 2,000-mile road trip. My wife and I took a few days to visit her family in Auburn, Alabama, and it was the first real chance anyone has had to stretch the Jaguar's legs outside of Michigan. It was also a good opportunity to see what sort of fuel economy I could wring out of the XE's 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel. The diesel engine was the main reason I chose it over our equally lovely long-term 2017 Audi A4. For me, chasing fuel economy is a great way to stay focused on the road. The XE 20d AWD is rated at 30 city/40 highway and 34 combined. The drive to and from Auburn is almost entirely highway, so I knew matching the highway rating would be easy enough. The XE has a 14.8 gallon tank, so I was looking at a minimum of 600 miles per tank and four fills for the trip, counting the initial pre-departure fill. I had two main concerns: first, this was a new route, so I didn't know how available diesel would be along I-75; second, crossing the Appalachian Mountains was going to severely cut into my overall average. The first worry turned out to be a nonissue, especially as we went further south. Not once was I forced to go from station to station looking for a lone green-handled pump. People in the South love their Cummins, Powerstroke, and Duramax-powered trucks, meaning diesel pumps were plentiful. Rolling up in a Jaguar does garner attention, though. An older gentleman even asked if I knew that I was putting diesel in the car. It seems he didn't have much faith in my reading comprehension skills. The mountains were more of a problem. There was literally no getting around them, but were west of the highest parts, so it could have been worse. The indicated fuel economy dropped by 4 mpg on the way up, from 47 mpg to 43. Still, I managed more than 650 miles from a tank, though I was starting to push my luck. We filled up for the short final leg. By the time we rolled into Auburn, the display indicated 44 mpg – pretty damn good, I'd say. It held there for the entire trip. Calculating the actual mileage revealed the computer was generous by 2 mpg, but that's par for the course. Few automakers display precise numbers. The relative ease of getting this sort of fuel economy was complemented by the price of diesel. At each one of my four stops, diesel cost less than premium, the required fuel in all of the XE's gasoline engines. According to AAA, the same is true nationwide.

Weekly Recap: Takeaways from the Frankfurt Motor Show

We obsessively covered the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and naturally, we selected our favorites from this fall's biggest automotive event. Now that the dust has settled, we're looking ahead to what it all means. Here are three takeaways from the floor in Frankfurt. The Germans are serious about electric vehicles: It's a bit cliche to say BMW, Mercedes, and Audi have downplayed electrics in favor of other technologies, like diesels. For a time that may have been true, but those three companies, along with Porsche and Volkswagen, are emerging as leaders in EV development. That was on display in Frankfurt, when all of them revealed either all-electric or plug-in hybrid models. Gas prices are relatively low in the United States, but clearly the Germans are thinking long-term and globally. Everyone is serious about SUVs: You gotta have one, even if you're Bentley or Jaguar. It's 2015 and it's what consumers want. As Jaguar design director Ian Callum put it, "Not to be in the sector would be a little naive for the sake of purity." It's not just the flashy exotic luxury makers. Nissan showed the Gripz concept, which is rakish, radical, and meant to blend traits of SUVs and sports cars into a vehicle that really crosses over. Look for more, especially in the luxury sector, as Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin ramp up their own SUV efforts. There's no ceiling to the luxury market: Speaking of high-end cars, companies are continuing to invest in extravagant wares beyond just SUVs. Even during the recession, ultra-luxury makers remained relevant, and now they're back at full stride. In Frankfurt, that was illustrated by yet another S-Class model, the cabriolet, which will come in S550 and S63 AMG variants in the United States. Ferrari also showed off the 488 Spider, and Lamborghini opened up the Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder. Meanwhile, Bugatti's Vision Grand Turismo concept reminded enthusiasts that it's plotting life after the Veyron. European auto shows always draw the glitziest reveals from luxury makers, and this year didn't disappoint. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Honda Civic redesigned with snazzier style, turbo power The 10th-generation of the Honda Civic debuted this week at events in Los Angeles and Detroit ahead of its launch in the United States this fall as a 2016 model. Honda fortified the Civic with LED lights, an available turbo engine, and a more tech-laden cabin.