Kia Optima
We are already used to the fact that the cars of this Korean brand look better every year - the German Peter Schreier carefully spuds their design. When we saw with our own eyes the new Optima sedan, there was no limit to our enthusiasm. Although the felt-tip pens are different in taste and color, we decided for ourselves firmly: “Optima” is the most beautiful car in its class. No more, no less!
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Infinity FX30d
Diesel FX is slightly more expensive than the gasoline version and slightly inferior to it in acceleration to hundreds; but its advantages more than cover the disadvantages. The fuel consumption of a diesel engine is less, and the power reserve, respectively, is higher. In addition, the 238-horsepower FX30d can significantly save on transport tax compared to the gasoline FX37, whose V6 develops 333 forces. Need more arguments?
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Honda Civic 4D
Japanese brand sedan surprised us twice. When we first met, we rejoiced at the ingenuity of engineers who guessed to forbid the trunk to be closed if the car key, falling out of a pocket, accidentally ended up in the hold. And the second time, “Civic” excelled at the close of the year, when it underwent a sudden restyling, getting a more interesting appearance and a new interior made of better materials.
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Hyundai Veloster
The Koreans have long threatened to create an asymmetric hatchback - and in the end they kept their word by revealing the Veloster to the world. There is, by and large, no special use from the additional door formed on the starboard side. But the chip, you see, is noticeable, right?
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Subaru XV
This crossover exfoliated from the Impreza, but categorically does not want to share the pedigree with it: XV - and the point. We were most pleased with the basic version with a 1.6-liter engine “on hand”: it is relatively reasonably priced and by the standards of the class has really outstanding cross-country ability, due to the presence of a lower gear and a huge ground clearance.
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Lexus-LS
In the new flagship of the prestigious brand, you can see the features of the predecessor, catching a car in restyling. However, I do not want to do this at all: it is too serious for both designers and engineers to upgrade LS. The sedan not only received an elegant appearance, but also became more sophisticated technically, significantly adding to the part of comfort.
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Chevrolet Tracker
According to the General Motors internal subordination, the compact Chevy crossover will appear in Russia six months later than the Opel Mokka, which differs only in a different appearance. But it will be cheaper! And it would be very nice if in the Russian specification we saw the Mailink infotainment system, which allows you to firmly connect the on-board electronics of the car with a smartphone.
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Mitsubishi Outlander
The Japanese crossover pleasantly disappointed us by demonstrating an amazing liveliness of character with the base engine: before meeting with him, we could not have thought that a decent-sized crossover, equipped with only a 2-liter engine, could drive so fast. It turned out that the new settings of the variator are capable, if not work wonders, then - at least - show tricks.
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Citroen-DS5
The French know how to make non-trivial cars, and the DS5 is the clearest proof of this: it is an extra-class car with an unusual appearance. But we like the interior of this Citroen even more than its appearance: it has convenience, quality, and chic.
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Volkswagen Cross Polo
Raise the body slightly above the ground and add a plastic body kit - this is the simplest recipe with which you can endow the usual city hatchback with crossover features. The solution is simple, but surprisingly effective: even devoid of all-wheel drive, the compact Cross-Polo with a modest 85-horsepower engine smartly storms light off-road. Like it!
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Volkswagen Golf
Stability is a sign of mastery. For the seventh time, the Germans are proving to the whole world that even a standard can be made even more perfect. The new Golf surpasses its predecessor in everything: it looks and drives better than ever. God, how do they do this?
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Honda CR-V
The Japanese crossover, having passed into the fourth generation, completely fascinated us with its sofa. It does not just add up, significantly increasing the already rather big hold, but it does it extremely elegantly - literally in one motion.
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Lada Largus
A spacious 7-seater station wagon, obtained by a reliable method of cloning from the Romanian Dacia-Logan-MCV, returns the Volga Automobile Plant to its roots: cars completely created by foreign engineers are again on the conveyor of the Togliatti auto giant. However, if we push politics aside, we will see that in the face of Largus the Russian market has developed a simple and reliable machine, which practically has no equal in terms of price, quality and quantity of car per unit of equipment.
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Honda Accord
Until recently, there were two varieties of the "Chord" - European and overseas. But now everything will be different: the American version is declared universal. We only benefit from this: the sedan has become noticeably larger, having moved to a higher class and got just the most spacious sofa, and now it is equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 with a power of 280 forces as a top motor.
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BMW 3 Series
The Treshka in the back of the F30 pleased us with the very fact of its appearance: each generation of this outstanding machine carries something new in it - and at the same time honors the faithfulness of tradition, carefully protecting its own gene pool. This year we tried all sorts of modifications of the new “treshka” - from the simplest to the most powerful - and invariably came to an unambiguous conclusion: the car fully retained all its inherent drive, but it became noticeably more comfortable. Keep it up!
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Ford Ranger
Never before has a Ford pickup changed so radically. The truck was enlarged, acquired a spacious interior and a roomy body, got hold of decent sound insulation and a comfortable suspension, received new engines and even changed residence permit, having left the factory in Thailand for the sake of the plant in South Africa. In general, it ceased to be a utilitarian vehicle. But we will not miss the old Ranger. New is better!
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Kia Sorento
New Sorento? Exactly! The crossover now rides better and is easier to steer, while the car has become safer and more comfortable. And all these virtues are noticeable much better than changes in appearance. The miracles of disguise - and more!
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Renault Twizi
This ridiculous epidemic must be fed with electricity and, overcoming the difficulties of the lack of the necessary infrastructure, carefully plan each trip so as not to deenergize halfway to work. It’s also advisable to keep “Twizi” in the garage, so that the homeless do not settle in the cabin, and the pioneers do not drive the car to the recycling center. But the fact that the electric Renault got to Russia and allowed itself to ride, impressed us to the core!
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Toyota Alphard
On a global scale, this luxury minivan, of course, is far from news: the first generation was born in 2002. Our model was known only due to the activity of the Far Eastern distillers, who dragged exclusively right-hand drive specimens from Japan. Only now an official release has been released in Russia. And then we were really surprised: who would have thought that such a bus could travel faster than many solid sedans?
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Peugeot 408
Evil tongues say that the new 408, they say, is a Chinese version of the Peugeot-308 sedan. Well, let! But now we have a solid and spacious car of a solid European brand, which also costs more than sane money. In addition, the “Pyzh” Kaluga assembly decent ground clearance (175 mm) and a stunning suspension, which is not afraid of even very broken roads.
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Mercedes-Benz-ML
Presenting in the official photos, the third-generation ML scared us too metrosexual design. The confrontation corrected the situation: in real life, the crossover found a rather pleasant appearance. And the car is driving and it’s really cool - especially with a turbodiesel, which is also perfectly noiseless: deciding by ear which engine is under the hood is decidedly impossible.
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FAW-Bestern
A nice sedan with a spacious interior trimmed with decent materials, as it turned out, also drives well - much better than most Chinese cars that have ever been featured on the Russian market. However, there is one simple explanation: the FAW is built on the Mazda-6 platform of the first generation, and quite officially. And this, it should be noted, feels great.
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Citroen-DS4
The pretentiousness of this "Frenchman" may seem prohibitive: sometimes you catch yourself thinking that when creating the DS4, designers lost their sense of proportion. However, no one will ever reproach Citro for facelessness - the individuality in it is enough for a whole fleet! In addition, its spectacular appearance does not conflict with practicality: it has even more ground clearance than other crossovers.
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Renault Megane RS
250 turbo forces on a front-wheel drive car, which was taught by high-class specialists from the Renault-Sport division, is an inexhaustible adrenaline generator. At such a fast Renault we have never been to ride.
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Subaru-BRZ / Toyota-GT86
The engineers of the two Japanese brands together put together the best they had in one machine. Subaru sacrificed a boxer gasoline engine, and Toyota extracted from the bowels of the past a concept that glorified the famous Hachiroku AE86 - a lightweight rear-wheel drive coupe. Daily riding or going to the track on track days is all up to this car.
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Lexus-GS
In the past year, Lexus replaced all major sedans, and the instigator of the process was GS. He also tried on a new corporate identity with a grille in the shape of an hourglass; and he became the first model, on the central panel of which a hefty 12.3-inch display of a highly developed multimedia system grew up. And the car pleased us with the cheapening of the basic version, which received a relatively modest, but quite sufficient 2.5-liter engine.
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Dodge Jorney
This "American" several years ago already felt our market, but did not feel it: a simple interior and front-wheel drive somehow did not fit in with the brutal appearance of the car. Now everything is different: "Zhora" got a new cozy interior and received an all-wheel drive transmission, turning from an awkward minivan into a rather impressive crossover.
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Lada Granta
We do not too much favor domestic cars with our attention, but the reason for this is by no means partiality towards them: it is just that Russian brands rarely have any significant news. Nevertheless, we could not get past the Grants: after all, this is the first production car of a native Russian origin, equipped with an automatic transmission. Truly a landmark in the history of the Russian state.
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Hyundai Solaris
Two years ago, we already noted the achievements of the Russian “Korean” who literally broke the market - today it is the most popular model of a foreign brand in Russia. But “Solaris” continues to surprise us: this year it received an upgraded suspension, which eliminated all the drawbacks of handling. Still, it’s nice when people listen to the opinion of the people.
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Range Rover
Gathering the will into an aluminum fist to lose weight and build muscle - which of us is capable of this? But the Range Rover could! The fourth generation acquired an aluminum body, which allowed to significantly reduce the weight of the car and had a very favorable effect on its general tone. This grand thoroughbred all-terrain vehicle has never been so swift!
