It was a stellar year for the introduction of cool new rides, but four out of my top five were updates of existing machinery. Herein, five at various price points that stayed in my mind.

Ford Flex EcoBoost

From the moment the Flex debuted, I dug its look and out-of-the-box (pun intended) take on the crossover thing: no faux offroad trappings, no trying to hide its people-carrier roots in swoopy sheetmetal. But when they stuffed in a 355hp twin-turbocharged, direct-injection monster motor I fell in love. The Ecoboosted Flex will smash sixty in six seconds flat, and feels even faster. Its stiffer chassis also handles more taughtly without loosing its smooth ride, its tranny shifts faster, and this Ford shows that you can implement electric power steering assist without giving up feel or precision (unlike two of the most disappointing cars I drove in ’09). If I had kids, I’d have one of these.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8

Not only did it Korea’s first rear-drive sports car look fresh and original, but Hyundai had the guts to launch the Genesis Coupe at a race track. We journos thrashed them on a road course, autocross, and got unlimited chances to learn how to drift—and make arses of ourselves trying to drift. If the GC isn’t quite perfect yet, let us remember that no American pony car (Mustang, Camaro, etc) was either at launch; continual improvement is the name of the game here. But the combination of virtues already baked into this svelte sports car exemplifies why Hyundai was one of only three car companies to increase sales here last year, and gained more market share than anyone in the US.

Jaguar XKR

The XKR has more bandwidth than almost any performance car I know: when the red mist descends, it will bellow to sixty as fast as many supercars, and indulge glorious powerslides like some demented trackday special. The other 90% of the time, it will cosset two lucky occupants with its smooth ride and quiet, refined, and sybaritic cockpit. And as Jaguar hasn’t eschewed the fabric roof for a folding metal lid, this convertible still has some trunk space with the top down and a svelte profile—unlike, say, the Ferrari California. Add in terrific steering feel, an exhaust note to die for, and pricing tens of thousands less than rivals like the SL63 Benz and you can actually consider this six-figure GT a value as well.

Mazda CX-7 2.5i

Who would have thought that by taking out the turbo engine and four-wheel drive, Mazda could make such a brilliant Honda CR-V rival out of its sporty crossover? Not I, certainly. But its brilliant chassis, which combined excellent ride and composure in the curves, detailed steering feel, a willing engine and amazing fuel economy, made this Mazda a rare surprise. That it packed in a lot more standard goodies than the Honda at a lower price, yet looked better and was just as practical, sealed the deal for me.

Toyota Prius

I hated the Prius when it came out; that first generation didn’t even get very good fuel economy. Yet continual development has turned it into quite an amazing machine, capable of routine returns of 50mpg. That, combined with a commodious and comfortable interior, loads of available tech, good looks—at least when rolling on the optional 17-inch wheels—and excellent build quality (unlike other recent Toyotas), illustrates that the world’s largest car company has still got it.

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