Which vehicle is the best? In our line of work, being asked that question is a risk. (And, sure, we are aware that it isn't truly dangerous, at least when contrasted with the risks that, example, zookeepers who feed lions or ironworkers who construct skyscrapers confront at work.) It's a reasonable question when you test and drive hundreds of automobiles annually, like our editorial staff does. And the solution may be found in our yearly 10Best awards.
We have been performing this activity since 1983: Not just our favorite new models released in a certain year, but the greatest of the best are identified. The previous year's champions compete with a slew of newly created or drastically altered competitors for one of the ten available places. The price ceiling is $110,000 now days (sorry, Ferrari). We bring together our contributors and employees from all around the world for a demanding two weeks of instrumented testing and driving, punctuated with arguments. We then cast our votes. The companies that best accomplish their stated goals, provide value to their customers, and ignite intense delight are the winners.
There are two new honorees and eight returning vehicles on this year's list of the 10Best Cars. Together, they provide an answer to that often asked query. These are the greatest automobiles available.
2025's Top 5 Luxury Featured Automobiles
1. Cadillac Blackwing CT4-V
At the top end of the market, sports cars resemble the gunslingers in vintage westerns. Every year, they arrive in town with their bandoliers packed, prepared to unleash speed, handling, and horsepower blasts at their competitors. When the tire smoke clears, we put them up against each other in "shootouts" to see who will be left standing.
The CT4-V Blackwing has once again maintained its position as the best small, high-performance sports sedan in the fiercely competitive 10Best Cars market. Since it originally launched on sale for the 2022 model year, it is returning for the fourth consecutive year. It should be noted that at that period, neither of its most serious rivals—the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio nor the BMW M3—made the 10Best list. The CT4-V Blackwing dominates this class of high-performance turbocharged six-cylinder four-door vehicles.
2. Cadillac Blackwing CT5-V
There are fewer and fewer sports cars accessible to drivers who love them due to seismic changes to the automotive scene that occurred only a few years ago. Additionally, there are less and fewer of those with rear-wheel drive and a manual gearbox. Only the now four-time 10Best-winning Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing has a V-8 out of the group.
Just those four factors place the large Blackwing in the center of our dream Venn diagram. What's not to adore? The CT5-V Blackwing is one of the few cars ever manufactured that can comfortably and successfully do highway, back-road, and commuting miles. It has grown much better for '25.
3. The Chevrolet Corvette
You probably already know everything there is to know about the lengthy and illustrious history of the Chevrolet Corvette, so we don't need to go into detail. The history of the Corvette has been filled with highs and lows, starting with the C1's early days, which predate this publication, and continuing through the present C8 generation. The Corvette is now experiencing an unquestionable, historic peak. Following decades of speculation, Chevrolet made the contentious choice to go to a mid-engine arrangement for the most recent Vette, a move that has turned out spectacularly. The Corvette has advanced to a new level.
Each model in the portfolio feels both distinct and distinctively Corvette, which contributes to the contemporary Corvette's allure. Every Corvette model, from the 490-hp Stingray to the first-ever all-wheel-drive Vette, the E-Ray, and the lightning-fast Z06, blends explosive acceleration and track-scorching capabilities with a smooth ride for a supercar and daily use. The Stingray can reach 60 mph in 2.8 seconds even in its basic configuration; the E-Ray can do the same in 2.5 seconds if it has two powered wheels and a few electrons.
4. The Honda Accord
It's as shocking to drive an Accord along a winding road as finding out your accountant is a bodybuilding champion. Such capability is simply not what you would anticipate from a four-door family car. However, you should if you often read C/D. The Honda Accord has now won the 10Best award 39 times. Every time editors get inside one, we read logbook notes like "It's still got it" and "The Accord hits all the marks." It has been at the top of our list of mid-size family sedans for years.
All of the expected deliverables, including interior room, ride comfort, fuel efficiency, and overall user-friendliness, together with handling and reaction that aren't often prominent in a sedan at this price range, are what the Accord hits and make up the "it" that it has. Even base-model Accords, which start at $29,390, can carry themselves and tuck neatly into a turn while making the driver grin. At the EX-L hybrid trim and higher, the 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine is upgraded to a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with two electric motors for a total of 204 horsepower. The hybrid Accord is incredibly fast both coming out of corners and diving into them, and it achieves an impressive 39 mpg in our highway fuel-economy test at 75 mph.
5. Civic Honda
One of the hardest problems facing the auto industry is creating a compact car that is reasonably priced without feeling that way. However, driving a Honda Civic would make you unaware of it. That may be as a result of Honda's extensive experience in the field over the years. The Civic, which is currently in its eleventh generation, was initially debuted as a 1973 model during the first energy crisis. Although certain Civics have been superior to others, overall greatness has been a defining characteristic of this brand, and the Honda Civic has made an appearance on the Car and Driver 10Best list for the eleventh time.
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