As with each new year, 2019 has seen its fair share of new and redesigned vehicles. SUVs of all shapes and sizes have truly become a cornerstone of each manufacturer’s lineup, cars have slowly begun to take a back seat to larger vehicles, and electric and hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular.
As all of these changes take shape, it becomes harder each year to follow all of the individual evolutions that come as a result of the passing of time. Technology is improving at an incredibly high rate and automakers have to grind to keep up with everything.
With everything going on, it’s exciting to see all of the newest models and technological developments that have come out in the past year. Here is my list of the best new and redesigned vehicles of 2019:
Honda Passport
New SUV segments are continually being invented to quench the consumers’ thirst for more. The Passport fits right in between the Pilot and CR-V, a feat that’s almost as easy as squeezing your king bed up the stairs and around the corner when you move. Honda did it though, and even though I think it’s just another addition to the already saturated market, I also think it will be success given its reasonable price point and consumers’ continued demand for everything SUV.
Mazda Mazda3
The Mazda 3 is a great car, yet it is wildly outsold every year by the Civic, Corolla, Sentra, and Elantra – a fact that nobody can really seem to figure out. Its 2019 redesign gives consumers just about every reason to change that. You can now get it with all-wheel-drive, not to mention its even sleeker design, even more refined interior, and fantastic driving dynamics has the competition beat.
BMW 8 Series
The BMW 8 Series Coupe and Convertible were both introduced for the 2019 model year with the four-door Gran Coupe and M model having just arrived. It immediately made a splash because of its beautiful design and its typical BMW luxury and refinement. Most other “best of” lists have the 8 Series on their radar as well. I don’t really have too much more to add other than to congratulate BMW on making a great case that sedans and coupes can still compete in a market flooded with SUVs.
Ford Ranger
After an 8 year hiatus, Ford decided to bring back the Ranger. Hindsight is always 20/20, and in hindsight, Ford should have never discontinued it. As a result, the Ranger started off with surprisingly slow sales for 2019, but I don’t expect that to last very long as they have also announced the cancellation of most of their car models in the U.S. over the next couple years. The Ranger offers a slightly smaller alternative to the ridiculously popular F-150, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
Genesis G70
Like BMW, Hyundai decided to introduce a brand new sedan in a market where sedan sales are shrinking rapidly. With that in mind, any new sedan would need to be pretty good to compete in the current market. It definitely is. Not only did it win the North American Car of the Year award, it also took home the AutoGuide.com Car of the Year award and made the Cars.com best of 2019 list. And, just to add some more icing to the cake, it is available with a manual transmission and all-wheel-drive.
Volvo XC40
The XC40 does well for itself in the saturated SUV segment with its boxier-than-normal shape allowing it to stand out. This may be one of the few SUVs available today that could go on a “Top 10 Best-Looking Vehicles” list, and its interior design isn’t bad either. Volvo has been playing a quality game in the past several years, and the XC40 is the second goal they’ve scored, along with the redesigned S60, to put them up 2-0 against the competition for 2019.
BMW Z4/Toyota Supra
Toyota has been dragging their feet with the Supra for years. It finally arrived in 2019 to much hype, even though it truly is very much a BMW Z4 under its skin. Many who have driven it say that it is very different than the Z4, but regardless of what exactly it is, any Supra that happens to come after the Mk. IV will fall short of Supra expectations. That doesn’t mean this one is bad. Both the Supra and the Z4 are both very good vehicles, regardless of the Supra purists and their presuppositions.
Kia Forte
The Kia Forte is good, not because it is a brand new, flashy, technologically-packed car, but rather because it is a newly redesigned car that improves on the previous generation and keeps everything simple. For those who can’t afford the BMWs, Volvos, or even your average midsize sedans of the world, the grown up Forte will fit the bill nicely.
Toyota Corolla Hatchback
On the other side of spectrum from the Forte, Toyota increased the youthfulness of its lineup by adding a hatchback version of their excellent Corolla. It offers more usable cargo space than the sedan, and adds some pretty sporty styling to the otherwise mundane compact car. Most reviewers have liked what they have experienced thus far, and I have to say that even though I’m not a huge fan of the Corolla, I would take this version over the sedan in a heartbeat.
Lincoln Nautilus
Lincoln vehicles from several years ago used to be like repackaging a Christmas gift you really didn’t want. You know you could make it look better, but it definitely wasn’t for you, because you already had one that worked. Ford has changed that in the past few years. They’ve stopped simply rebadging Ford vehicles for the Lincoln brand and have started making legitimately upscale luxury vehicles that are challenging the usual contenders in the market. The Nautilus is just the next step in Lincoln’s transformation, and though it is yet another SUV, it’s possibly the best SUV that nobody knows about.
