2016 Feb 27
by Collin Woodard
Cars that try to be good at everything end up being great at nothing. These nine cars pick a single task, and completely dominate it.
ALFA ROMEO 4C
When you’re looking for a car to drive on winding mountain roads, the smart money is on the Porsche Cayman. That’s a car you can still use every day. Looking at the spec sheet, the Alfa Romeo 4C looks like a terrible choice. It has a four-cylinder engine, no power steering, barely any creature comforts, and the quality of some of its interior pieces is lacking. Drive it in the city, and you’ll hate it. But open it up on a back road, and it will be amazing.
DODGE VIPER ACR
All you need to do is look at the Dodge Viper ACR’s giant rear wing to realize this isn’t a daily driver. It would be fascinating to watch someone try, since it’s street legal, but we’re certainly not going to volunteer our spines for the job. No, the Viper ACR is built for the track, and when it’s on the track, it dominates. In fact, the Viper ACR is so good, it set lap records at 13 tracks. That’s crazy.
DODGE CHALLENGER HELLCAT
We all love the Challenger Hellcat because 707 horsepower is awesome, but if you expected Dodge to finally turn its top-spec Challenger into a corner carver, you’d be sorely mistaken. The Challenger Hellcat has no interest in chasing Mustangs and Camaros around a track or even down a canyon road. But if you want a car that’s perfect for burnouts, good luck finding one that’s better for those than a Hellcat.
JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON
The Jeep Wrangler is one of those vehicles that even non-car people love. It makes you feel cooler no matter who you are, even if you never take it off-road. Especially in Rubicon form, driving a Wrangler around when you don’t intend to off-road it makes no sense. It’s not built for pavement, no way. But when it’s in its element, far off the beaten path, it’s amazing.
MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO
There was a time when the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo was an incredibly desirable car with cutting-edge technology that made it feel like it really was a rally car. Today, that’s far from the case. Without any significant updates since the tenth-generation car’s introduction in 2008, it’s a car that feels rather dated. But when you get one out on a snowy dirt road, none of that matters. That’s where the Evo originally shined, and that’s where it still shines today.
NISSAN VERSA
A lot of people think the Mitsubishi Mirage is the cheapest car in the U.S., but that’s not exactly true. The Nissan Versa starts approximately $1000 lower than the Mirage. When you’re paying $60,000 for a luxury sedan, a $1000 difference is pretty insignificant, but on a $12,000 car, that’s a lot. Then again, you don’t get a lot of modern features. For your $12,000, you do get air conditioning, but that’s about it. Still, it’s the best car in the U.S. at being the most inexpensive car in the U.S.
RAM PROMASTER
If the most cargo you carry in your car is a burrito, a bag of chips, and a side of guacamole on your way home from Chipotle, we doubt you’ll have much use for a Ram ProMaster. But if you have tons of stuff to drag around all day, the ProMaster’s going to be a godsend. It can fit so many boxes, it’ll make pickup trucks look like Power Wheels.
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM
Despite its astronomical price tag, the massive weight of the nearly-6000-pound Rolls-Royce Phantom means it’s far from a driver’s car. Despite being powered by a 6.8-liter V12, its acceleration isn’t earth-shattering. But the Phantom isn’t concerned with any of those petty things. No, the Phantom is the absolute most comfortable car you could possibly ride in. If that’s what you’re looking for, the Phantom is perfect.
TOYOTA PRIUS
For car enthusiasts, few cars generate as much scorn as the Toyota Prius. It’s a car that rejects almost everything about being sporty in the chase for the almighty MPG. The latest Prius is a bit more fun to drive than the last one, but it’s still meant to be the ultimate choice for anyone who’s looking to go as far as possible on every drop of gasoline. If you go with the Eco model, it’s rated at a ridiculous 58 mpg city and 50 mpg highway.
This article was first published on the Road & Track
