MotorMouths

Audi has crafted a masterpiece here. It has bested its own best-in-a-generation R8 by lopping off the top, and creating a better, more involving car in the process. Better still, it has built a supercar that is every bit the match, dollar for dollar, with its far more exotic Lamborghini doppelganger.

At its heart, Virage is like every great Aston: subtle, and fast, and substantial, and utterly self-confident. But technology is a big part of luxury these days, and it’s definitely Aston’s Achilles’ heel.

The Evora S moves the game seriously on for Lotus in this more upscale part of the world. The understated supercar looks will not go unappreciated by buyers or spectators, and the proposition for enthusiast drivers is superb indeed.

The BMW 328i is a capable, luxurious, quick, good-looking machine that speaks to its heritage while embracing the fast-moving future. BMW should be as proud of it as it is of its long-standing tradition of excellent sports sedans.

In the final analysis, our opinion of the TT RS is this: if you can make it happen, buy this car. It’s not perfect, but dollar-for-dollar, this may just be the best performance Audi you can buy today.

The sun may be setting on the glory days for fire-breathing monsters like the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, but that doesn’t mean we can enjoy a bit of excess into the dusk light.

The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth is a special car. It is a very different car than the base model it has been built upon, and should be heavily appealing to those drivers that are considering the very most sporting selection of small cars.

The 2011 9-5 offers most of the core Saab values that we’ve come to expect and desire, along with some really interesting newness that we didn’t even know we were missing.

We think that the 2010 Legacy GT will hold up very well against the mainline competition for buyers that are looking for something more performance oriented, and for those who aren’t afraid to stand out from the herd.

The Chrysler 300C, while not utterly re-defining the nameplate, proves worthy of one of Chrysler’s most revered badges, and should be an immediate add to the shopping list for anyone considering a full-size sedan.

The 2013 RDX sort of “joins the herd” in terms of overall character and performance, and then immediately attempts to gain separation in the more traditional arenas of ride quality, content, fuel economy, and price.

The GLI is a good-to-very-good entry-level enthusiast car. With more room, and just a bit more practicality overall, than its GTI sibling, only the car’s slightly less keen handling holds it back from being our go-to Volkswagen.