2008 Cars of the Year

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oday's schizophrenic auto industry presents a dilemma. On one hand, 400 bhp, 500 bhp, even 600 bhp sports models are readily available. As one industry pundit put it, "The good old days are now." On the other hand, high-performance hybrids, a resurgence of diesel technology and a conscious, even urgent desire to protect the environment have carmakers battling to come up with the cleanest, most efficient engineering ever. It's a time of change—when an Audi rivals a Porsche, when a Maserati is better and more affordable than any comparable Ferrari and when one of the cheapest, most fuel-efficient new models comes from luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz. Ameri­can automakers are fighting for their very lives, but there are encouraging signs from the Big Three as the Japanese grow stronger, the Koreans nip at their heels and the Chinese loom portentously on the horizon. As we do each year, playboy's editors test-drove every new car you could possibly want, racking up miles, talking with engineers and separating the wanna-haves from the also-rans so you'll know what to buy when it comes time to write that big check. Go to playboy.com/caroftheyear for the criteria used to select these cars, an extended photo gallery and a chance to vote for your favorite machines of 2008. ^

¦ BEST LUXURY SPORTS COUPE In the current marketplace, at $120,000, the new Maserati GranTurismo is a steal. It's a serious 2+2 in ihe Maserati 5000GT tradition. Styled by Pininfarina, with a luscious leather interior only Italians could create, it's a modern classic. We tore through Alpine passes from Balzano, Italy to Innsbruck, Austria, reveling in this elegant coupe's ability to straighten the most challenging curves. Sexy cars deserve sexy engines: The Maser's 405 bhp, 4.2-liter double overhead cam V8 packs 339 foot-pounds of torque. Perfectly mated to a six-speed paddle-shifted manumatic with normal and sport settings, the engine screams to a 7,100 rpm redline, rocketing to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds. Race-inspired 13-inch Brembo discs haul the GT down precisely. Honorable mention in this category goes to Bentley's 600 bhp Con­tinental GT Speed. It's nearly a second faster to 60 mph but lacks that exquisite Italian sensuousness, and it costs nearly $100,000 more.

SMARTEST PURCHASE We've seen them tucked sideways into impossibly small parking spaces in European cities and once watched a chic Frenchwoman apply her makeup while weaving through rush-hour traffic headed into Paris at 60 mph. No wonder Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 770,000 Smart cars since 1998. (Smart is the marque, but Mercedes makes them.) Finally, the Smart Fortwo is being imported into America. Make no mistake, the Fortwo is small. At eight feet eight inches long, it's nearly three feet shorter than a Mini Cooper. The 71 bhp three-cylinder power plant is obviously pint-size, but since the car weighs only 1,807 pounds it moves along, well, smartly. Zero to 60 takes 12.6 seconds, and you can hit 90 mph with the help of a tailwind. You don't want to drive a Smart car across South Dakota in a blizzard, but if you're looking for inexpensive wheels (from $11,590) with great gas mileage (about 40 miles a gallon), this baby is no dummy.

BEST SPORTS SEDAN Cadillac's new CTS is a clWiPjjnMeflBe in all day long. No errand is too insignificant. General Motors proudly reports the suspension was tuned at Nurburgrin^Wnatever. To us it felt good from the cockpit. It goes fast, and it's nice-looking, a smooth melding of mechanical punch and visual panache. The CTS's base engine is a 3.6-liter V6 that develops 263 bhp. The 5.9-second zero to 60 is as fast as the upcoming high-performance Caddy CTS-V's. The base price is $33,000, but loads of upgrades are available. A thousand bucks more gets you an optional direct-injection V6 that ups the ponies to 304. Six-speed manual is standard, but you can get a six-speed automatic with a manual shift feature. An additional $1,000 gets you a Bose sound system and a 40-gig hard drive, among other juicy add-ons. Runners-up in this category: the Audi S8, BMW's 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz's C-Class sedans.

BEST SUV Outdoor enthusiasts have loved Land Rovers since the breed was bom, in 1948. The vehicles were a little less comfortable back then but superior nonetheless. Land Rover's latest, the relatively diminutive LR2 (which replaces the short-lived Freelander), is the winner in this category. A 3.2-liter V6 gives the vehicle more than enough oomph (230 bhp) to make it what old Africa hands would call "a real cheetah chaser." Standard: all-wheel drive, a Terrain Response feature that adjusts the AWD and suspension for driving conditions ranging from rocks to sand or snow, not to mention Gradient Release and Hill Descent Controls for steeps (also offered in the LR2's big brother, the LR3). The LR2's interior is men's-club posh, as you'd expect. Base price: $34,700. But you owe it to yourself to get the Technology Package ($3,500, including nav system, audio upgrade, Sirius Satellite Radio and Bluetooth). Runners-up: Toyota's FJ Cruiser and the Lexus LX 570.

¦ BEST CROSSOVER A Buick is the best crossover? Did a pig just fly past our window? No, nor has hell frozen over. The luxurious Enclave

CXL with 19-inch wheels stunned us when we climbed in. The more time we spent in it—on Missouri back roads north of St. Louis—the more we were sure. The attention to detail is immediately evident, down to the leather-wrapped steering wheel that puts the audio and cruise controls at your fingertips. A base front-wheel-drive CX powered by a 3.6-liter V6 (275 bhp) costs about $32,500 before you start licking your chops over options like all-wheel drive, a nav system with a rear backup camera, a DVD player with 10-speaker Bose surround sound and a luxury package that includes articulated headlights. Even 20-inch chrome wheels are available. Buick is no longer the preferred car of the set that can't drive at night. Runners-up: Acura MDX, Lexus RX 400h, Volvo XC90 and the Mercedes-Benz R-Class vehicles.

¦ BEST CONVERTIBLE As rivalsintroduced convertibles with slick retractable hardtops, BMW designers waited (or perfection. Three years

in the making, the 335i's new three-piece ultralightweight steel roof retracts in 22 seconds at the touch of a button, then disappears under the trunk lid, which opens backward (front to rear) when the top does its meticulous mating dance. The windshield's carefully calculated rake mini­mizes wind rush on the rear seats when the top is down. As for driving this thing, its direct-injection three-liter 1-6 pulls like a train (300 bhp, 300 foot-pounds of torque), with a delightfully muted whir of induction and gear noise. Thanks to a brace of low-inertia turbochargers, turbo lag is nonexistent. Zero to 60: 5.5 seconds. Japanese rivals have yet to master this degree of steering sensitivity. At 549,875, you'd expect an alphabet soup of acronyms: ABS, DSC—it's all here. Honorable mention: For half the price, Mazda's MX-5 Miata is a nifty two-seater.

¦ BEST EARTH-DAY CAR Hybrids may be fashionable, but contemporary diesels average 30 to 35 percent better mileage than comparable gas engines, use a fuel that in many states is cheaper than premium and offer boundless torque. If your image of diesel is a noisy, smoky oil burner, you're out of date. Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec, the 2007 World Green Car of the Year, runs about $50,000 well equipped and packs a three-liter 210 bhp V6 common-rail lurbodiesel that develops a staggering 400 foot-pounds of torque, streaks to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds and averages 32 mpg on the highway. We drove one 1,400 miles from Inner Mongolia to Beijing and loved its ability to hammer like hell. The Benz's exhaust system has three specialized catalysts and a particulate filter to erase nearly every last trace of smoke and nitrous-oxide emissions. Runner-up: For 2008 Toyota introduces the Prius standard model. At $1,225 less than last year's, it's the new base model—hardly sexy but cheap and clean.

BEST PINT-SIZE PERFORMANCE The new Volvo C30 accentuates the youthful side of this all-loo-serious Swedish brand. It cops an attitude with its feisty styling; in front it's clearly a Volvo S40, minus two rear doors and with 8.5 inches less overhang. We love the full-width glass hatch and clipped Manx bobtail. The C30's perfectly balanced 227 bhp turbocharged, intercooled 1-5 engine, hooked to a six-speed manual, delivers plenty of punch. We turned heads on the streets of San Diego and barrel-raced down the Ortega Highway in this ride, loving every mile. It's surprisingly roomy in back, on a long-for-its-class 103.9-inch wheelbase, with fully independent suspension, 18-inch alloys and Pirelli PZero sports rubber. For a small cost your C30 can be personalized at the factory in Sweden from a choice of 17 exterior and 12 interior color combos. That's a lot of car for $25,000. We'd opt for Version 2.0 with uprated springs, shocks and sway bars. Runner-up: the VW R32.

A THING OF BEAUTY is a joy forever, wrote John Keats so gracefully, and he was talking about sheep and daffodils. Imagine the poetry he'd have spouted if he had gotten his mitts on the Audi R8, playboy's Car of the Year. We knew it was a serious contender this past February when we drove one along Nevada's high-desert highways. On those stark roads the R8 exhibited vast amounts of power and incredibly precise steering. Later in the year we turned an R8 loose on Virginia's long and winding Blue Ridge Parkway, barely experiencing a fraction of the performance this incredible engine can deliver. That drive sold us. Now's your chance to turn the key and listen to the 420 bhp, 4.2-liter V8 symphony playing just behind your head. That's right, a mid-engined Audi sports car. No wonder Porsche is nervously checking its rearview mirror. Move the six-speed gated shifter into first (or opt for Audi's six-speed R tronic automatic trans) and experience a zero-to-60 time of 4.4 seconds, the quarter mile at 12.7 seconds and —if you can find the road—a top end of almost 190 mph. The R8's interior boasts polished leather and carbon-fiber trim, and the whole thing sits on 19-inch alloy wheels (go for the optional Pirelli PZero staggered tires). If you aren't quite sold, this technical info should do the trick: The R8 is fitted, of course, with Audi's quattro AWD, but you also get ESP with Electronic Differential Lock, speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion steering, double-wishbone front and rear suspensions and Audi magnetic ride. Some of the chassis's tech is borrowed from the Lamborghini Gallardo (both Lambo and Audi are part of the VW Group), but the R8's sonically crafted exhaust is an Audi original, as are those unusual side panels behind the air intakes. The R8 starts at $109,000. Good luck finding one.

PLAYBOY'S

CAR

OF THE

YEAR