When all of the dreary, everyday driving is taken off the agenda, which keys do you reach for first? The 2020 Subaru WRX Series.White makes a solid argument for the return of some old-school values, taking what has long been a car to flatter enthusiasts and giving it a cold-as-ice revamp that doesn't break the bank.
It's no secret that Porsche's SUVs have been quietly underwriting the automaker's more enthusiast-focused cars for some time now. Models like the Cayenne and Macan have found a healthy audience of drivers seeking the driving experience and the badge of a Porsche, but who need more practicality than from, say, a Cayman. You could call it compromise, but spend some time in the Porsche Macan S and you might start to wonder if it's the sports car drivers that are missing out.
Size may not be everything, but clearly nobody told the BMW X7 that. Big SUV, big grille, big luxury, and big price tag: the 7-seater may be the German automaker's first full-sized SUV, but nobody could accuse it of playing things safe. Then again, with the segment as competitive as it is, safe was not an option.
Purity is a concept the Lamborghini Urus has little time for, and rightly so. On paper, SUV body aside, it checks off all the boxes fans of the automaker have come to expect: ridiculous power, fiendishly clever engineering, and performance as high as its price tag. If you're getting hung up on the four doors and seating for up to five, you're missing the point.
The 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid wears its green credentials on its sleeve: quite literally, in fact, with unmistakable lime green badges on the front fenders. Seventeen years after introduction, there's now no doubting that the market was ready to embrace a Porsche SUV. Question is, does a hybrid drivetrain sit at odds with this sporting luxe-truck?
If you're driving something special, you want it to look the part, and so when Audi was creating the second-generation 2020 RS7 Sportback it put in the time to differentiate not only on driving dynamics from the regular A7, but also the exterior design. Sure enough, while the new RS7 Sportback still has that svelte sloping roofline, put both cars side by side and the differences stack up. Step outside to find a Tango Red Audi RS7 Sportback waiting for you, and it's enough to give you sweaty palms.
A bright red German sports convertible may not be the most obvious example of why restraint is in vogue right now, but the 2019 BMW Z4 sDrive30i would like to challenge your conceptions on excess. The entry-level roadster in BMW's line-up, its $50k price tag comes courtesy of a 2.0-liter engine rather than the six-cylinder you might think you need.
Whoever sent out the memo that modern crossovers needed to be sporty clearly left Lincoln off the list, but that's no great problem when it comes to the 2019 Nautilus. Slotting in as the automaker's midsize luxury option in the ever-popular crossover segment, the Nautilus promises to coax more style and more relaxation out of the refreshed second-generation MKX.
Sometimes it takes the unexpected to really get the true measure of a car, but you can't say the 2019 Audi e-tron shies from a challenge. First in what the automaker expects to be a whole series of "e-tron" branded electric vehicles, the new SUV isn't just attempting to demonstrate that established car companies can keep up with new tech, but to change the conversation on what's important when it comes to EVs. An impromptu weather A/B test was just a bonus.
Entry-level luxury cars like the 2019 Mercedes-Benz A220 4MATIC have a fine line to walk. On the one hand, they're the gateway to an aspirational brand. At the same time, though, Mercedes' margins get healthier the further up the range you shop: it's in Stuttgart's best interest to get you hooked on the three-pointed star and then rapidly coax you into larger, more expensive models.
You could forgive the Nissan Leaf for feeling overlooked in the electric car segment. Tesla may get the lion's share of the attention, particularly over the past eighteen months with the Model 3, but it's Nissan's far more affordable EV that has become the world's best-seller. Now, there's a brand new Leaf, completely reworked to reflect the changes in the electric vehicle landscape since the original debuted back in 2010.
Big, lavish SUVs are big, money-making business right now, and little screams comfortable excess like the Lincoln Navigator. Two decades of the automaker's burly people-carrier - punctuated with appearances in rap songs and spats with Cadillac's Escalade - have seen it both grow-up and glow-up, but it's with the arrival of the fourth-generation that the Navigator has truly reclaimed its ostentatious identity.