Best cars 2013

The Jaguar F-TYPE is a cool-looking car, and the Convertible S model is even cooler — especially when it’s road-tested in the middle of winter, the way I did.

The car’s sleek exterior lines shouldn’t be marred by something as mundane as ordinary door handles. So the Jaguar F-TYPE uses what the British automaker calls “deployable door handles” that retract into the body of the car when not in use and pop out when needed.

If the car has keyless entry and push-button start like the Convertible S model I tested, you can just press the front of the recessed door handle and the doors will unlock and the handles will pop out. Pushing the rear of one of the handles locks the doors and causes the handles to retract. The handles also retract and become flush with the car at a certain speed.

For an F-TYPE without keyless entry, pressing the unlock button on the key fob causes the doors to unlock and the handles to pop out, and pressing it again locks the doors and hides the handles. On the car I tested, the side mirrors also fold in when the doors are locked since Jaguar hasn’t yet figured out a way to make those disappear — though that could be next.

Audi A6

It seems simplistic, but you need to know what car you want. Base your information on needs for fuel economy, capability, space, passenger capacity and price range. Also consider your desires for performance, looks, amenities and reliability. Focus on a few vehicles and narrow the list by reading reviews and using guidance tools on the Internet. Once you have a short list, test drive or rent the vehicles. If you take your test drive at a dealership, don’t get caught up in the buying experience. You are only researching at this point. The test drive should narrow your choice down to one vehicle. Then you need to go deeper.

Once you’ve picked the vehicle you want, choose the trim level based on the features and options you can’t live without. Go to the brand’s website and navigate to the “build and price” area. Build the car to the specifications you want. This will give you the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, plus the destination charge. Visit third-party websites such as MSN Autos to find the vehicle’s invoice price (more on this later). When the time comes to buy, don’t deviate from the trim level you chose — why pay for features you don’t want? Note that you might have to special order a vehicle to get exactly what you want.

Once you’ve chosen the model and options, email a few local dealers and ask for a quote on that exact vehicle. Add a timeline for your buying process to show them that you aren’t just a tire-kicker. You can also use Internet services for this step, such as the “get a quote” links on websites such as MSN Autos and pricing sites such as TrueCar.com. To get your business, one of those dealers might quote you a good price right up front.

Take documented evidence of your best price quote to your preferred dealer and start the negotiations. The dealer will be compelled to meet or beat your best price to earn your business. If this dealer is close to your home or workplace, it’s best to buy from them for your convenience and because they will be more willing to work with you on service issues if you’re a customer. Also use timing to your advantage. Buy when you want to — not when you need to — and go to the dealer at the end of the month when the staff is trying to meet sales goals.

It’s not easy to take the plunge and go with an electric vehicle as your trusted daily driver. There are a hundred what-ifs, such as accidents, weather and unexpected detours that could easily lead you outside of the battery’s range. The Chevrolet Volt may be just the answer, with its EV-only range of 38 miles, which is enough for most round-trip commutes and errands, plus a 1.4-liter range-extending gas generator good for an additional 342 miles to keep you moving if the unexpected occurs.

Scion IQ

Ah, the Prius. Love them or hate them, almost all of us have watched them zip past in HOV lanes with their special license plates as we sit idling in traffic. As the car that crystallized the hybrid craze in America, the Toyota Prius is hard to beat as a daily driver. Boasting remarkable fuel economy, a roomy interior and cool tech features that make the commute a little less monotonous — not to mention special lane rights in certain areas — it’s hard to pass on the stalwart of the hybrid community.

For a family sedan that pulls double duty as the household commuter, the Toyota Camry Hybrid is hard to ignore. While not exactly exciting to drive, it produces fantastic fuel economy for a car its size, while the intuitive Entune infotainment system helps lighten the drudgery of the everyday slog. Couple that with Toyota’s stellar resale value and a great warranty on the battery pack, and the Camry Hybrid is a solid, economical family-sized cruiser.

If you have to commute in an urban area, you know that parking is at a premium. How many times have you circled the block waiting for a sizable spot to open up? A paltry 10 feet long, the new Scion iQ sports such a diminutive footprint that you can drag and drop this car just about anywhere. The staggered seating position allows you to stuff three adults in the car with enough room left over for everyone’s lunch.

Tech turning points

Whether it was 4G connectivity and “big data” coming to vehicles or large tech companies making a stake in the connected car space and the move toward autonomous driving, 2013 saw several significant turning points that prove that technology will change driving as we know it. Here’s my take on the top five car tech trends we saw this year.

Connectivity. You can’t have a connected car without connectivity. And with the smartphone and tablet market reaching a saturation point, wireless carriers have set their sights on the car as the next mobile device — and hence a new market for data plans — as drivers increasingly want to stay connected. 2013 kicked off with GM and AT&T announcing a partnership to bring 4G connectivity to cars in 2014, and wrapped up with Audi doing the same at the Los Angeles Auto Show with an unnamed carrier partner.

Autonomous cars. While it’s been three years since Google revealed in late 2010 that it had logged almost 150,000 miles testing its original self-driving Toyota Prius, in 2013 most mainstream automakers revealed their autonomous vehicle ambitions. More than a half dozen major car companies as well as electric vehicle startup Tesla announced automated driving technology, introduced a self-driving research vehicle or both. And Nissan said it will have several self-driving vehicles on the market by 2020.
Over-the-air software updates. Because of the disparate differences in product lead times between the technology and auto industries — 12 to 18 months versus three to four years — cars are always behind the times tech-wise. While manual software updates have been used for several years with systems like Ford Sync, over-the-air updates that occur automatically make it easier for car owners and car companies to keep in-dash electronics current. An example of this is when Audi rolled out a new feature via an OTA update that allows a driver to find, reserve and even pay for a parking spot in advance. Tesla did it too when it added an update to deal with fires issues for the Model S.