OUR FAVOURITE CARS
We looked back at the past decade for the very best — the real standouts on the road. Here are the Driving.ca staff’s favourite cars of the past 10 years.
The car I have most often complimented has been Audi’s RS7. Maybe I’m too old to get excited about supercars anymore, but it takes more than just raw horsepower to get my motor running.
But show me a sexy, slope-backed four-door with a hatchback that can accommodate a big trunkload of motorcycle parts and I am intrigued. Line the interior with the most melodious of Bang & Olufsen stereos and I’ll start paying serious attention. Throw in a big, growly twin-turbo V8 that quite literally flies, and I’m completely hooked.
GRAEME FLETCHER: FORD FIESTA ST
My pick is more affordable, but no less engaging — the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST. Lowering the ride height, adding a sport-tuned suspension, sharpening the steering and adding a slick brake-based torque-vectoring system sorted out the handling. Add a 1.6-litre turbocharged four that pushes 197 hp and 202 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm through a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox and you’re in business.
There was virtually no turbo lag off the line and the overboost mode (for up to 17 seconds!) gave it some needed mid-range punch.
And the three-mode stability control system came with a true off position.
DEREK MCNAUGHTON: PORSCHE 911 GT3
The 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 is my pick for car of the decade.
The 991-era Porsche 911 GT3 saw two variants: the 991.1 and updated 991.2.
The most important change between the two is the return of the choice between a manual transmission or a PDK dualclutch transmission in the later car. It also got a bigger engine, jumping from a 3.8-litre to a
4.0, lifted from the GT3 Cup race car. With 500 hp and 340 lb-ft of peak torque, the engine’s 9,000-rpm red line is seduction of the highest form. And the GT3 remains naturally aspirated.
JIL MCINTOSH: NISSAN MICRA
I drove a lot of cars over the past decade, including sports models, trucks and more than a few with six-figure price tags.
But it was the lowly little Micra that grabbed my heart. When auto reviewers say a vehicle is “cheap and cheerful,” it’s a compliment, and Micra was exactly the kind of car they mean. It started at two bucks under 10 grand when it arrived for 2015, making it competitive, not just with other new cars but with used ones, and with a full warranty pre-owned cars didn’t have.
The Micra proved to be more fun than it had a right to be.
It only made 109 hp but it felt quick, and it handled like a go-kart; there was even a race series for it, the Micra Cup.
BRIAN HARPER: MINI COOPER JCW
These days, as cars (and SUVS and pickups) get evermore complicated, I occasionally like to retreat to simpler, more analog vehicles, the ones that make intimate the driving experience — which is to say something lightweight with a manual gearbox.
Looking over my decade of road tests, the most effusive praise has gone to the performance-infused Bmw-built
Mini Cooper JCW (especially the three-door).
A 2012 test says it best: “I have yet to find anything that equals the JCW in total dedication to sub rosa scofflaw behaviour.
The car literally begs to have the wheels driven off it, yet it is just as rewarding at legal (or, at least, near-legal) speeds.”
PETER BLEAKNEY: AUDI R8 V10
I have to go with the second-generation Audi R8 V10 in either coupe or cabrio form.
Here is a mid-engine supercar that is exotic yet user-friendly, blisteringly fast yet luxury-car-compliant, daringly styled yet not too over the top.
For me, the defining feature of the R8 is the Lamborghini-derived naturally aspirated V10 that kicks out 600-plus horsepower and howls to a 8,700-rpm red line. This free-breathing engine is a true masterpiece.
CLAYTON SEAMS: MAZDA MIATA ND
We had all given up on truly lightweight cars and had assumed that the 2,800-lb. Subaru BRZ would set the standard of lightweight cars to come. We were very wrong.
Without a single dash of carbon fibre, Mazda gave us a car some 500 lbs. lighter than a BRZ.
There was no miracle carbotanium inside its structure, just good, thoughtful engineering.
The Miata is nothing less than the finest-handling car money can buy. It won’t out-grip a Mclaren, it’s as spacious as a microwave inside, and the engine still sounds like an appliance, but for taking it back to basics, I’m happy to call the ND Miata the car of the decade.
LORRAINE SOMMERFELD: MCLAREN P1
The debut of the hybrid hypercars — the P1, the Ferrari Laferrari, the Porsche 918 — is one of the most astounding turns of this decade in the automotive industry. I don’t usually choose from the crazy car categories when I’m touting favourites, but Mclaren has always been at the top of my imaginary wish list.
The unveiling of the P1 in Paris in 2012 heralded the beginning of a new era in not just racing technology but car tech in general. “Hybrid” had for so long meant “Prius.” It is fantastic to watch the rollout of the big boys’ accomplishments. We’re seeing automotive history unfold.