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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.

Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.

Nearly 200 units of the Jaguar I-Pace recalled again due to fire risk

Jaguar has issued a safety recall that applies to nearly 200 units of the electric I-Pace. The crossovers included in the campaign can catch fire due to a battery-related problem, and they should have already been fixed but ended up not receiving the required software update. Assigned recall number 23V-709 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall includes 199 examples of the 2019 to 2023 I-Pace built between February 15, 2018, and February 7, 2023. These vehicles were also part of recall number 23V-369 issued in March 2023. Jaguar has since received one new report of a car in the United States catching fire; the incident happened on September 8, 2023. When it issued the original recall, it cited eight reports of an I-Pace catching fire on our shores between June 2019 and May 2023. Jaguar explains the recalled cars are at risk of a "thermal overload," which can manifest itself as "smoke or fire" that "may occur underneath the vehicle, where the high-voltage traction battery is located." The company hasn't detailed the root of the problem, but it previously noted that the updated software monitors the battery pack's status, detects when it's at risk of a thermal overload, and warns the driver accordingly. It also limits the battery's charging capacity to 75% if it identifies a problem and instructs the driver to visit a dealer as soon as possible. The issue is that some dealers "used a non-approved service diagnostic tool" that didn't upload the updated software to the car, hence why the 199 vehicles included in campaign 23V-709 are being recalled a second time. Jaguar's fix remains the same: It's asking owners to take their I-Pace to the nearest authorized dealership so that a technician can update the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) software. Owners who have already paid to get the problem fixed will be able to claim a refund from the British brand. And, they're being asked to park their car away from structures, such as a garage or a house, and charge outside for 30 days after the software update has been completed. Jaguar will begin notifying owners of affected cars by mail on December 15, 2023.