The 2017 Motor Trend Driver’s Car of the year

Motor Trend has just finished up their yearly field testing to find the 2017 Driver’s Car of the year.  Every single year for the past 2 or 3 years, I have eagerly awaited the end result.  Each year, I have also ended up being a little disappointed.  You knew it was coming… Of course I would be disappointed in the outcome.  That aside, we all have our own list in our head concerning this topic.  So maybe at the end of the next article, you can tell me how Motor Trend and I are both wrong.

 

Let’s start out with the list of the contenders for 2017 and the order in which they placed:

1. Ferrari 488 GTB

2. Porsche 718 Cayman S

3. Porsche 911 Turbo S

4. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE

5. Mercedes AMG GT R

6. Alfa Romeo Guilia Quadrifoglio

7. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Z07

8. Lexus LC 500

9. McLaren 570GT

10. Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Club

11. Nissan GT-R Nismo

12. Aston Martin DB11

 

That out of the way, let’s look at Motor Trend’s own definition of what it takes to be the Best Driver’s Car:

“Best Driver’s Car is about the way a car makes you feel. It’s about the bees in your belly as you clip an apex, the giggles induced by the slingshot launch of barely restrained acceleration, and the sense of satisfaction that comes from the melding of man and machine… To earn the title of Best Driver’s Car, a vehicle must deliver a balance of usable performance, intuitive handling, and driver-friendly design. The winner should be a vehicle with a multidimensional personality, a car that will delight and reward the enthusiast driver on any road at any time, regardless of weather and traffic conditions.”

 

That seems pretty reasonable.  After all, we aren’t talking about the most practical car, nor the most comfortable, nor the best-selling.  That would always go to something like the Camry, Accord, or the hottest SUV at the time.  We’re talking about a car in which the enthusiast, and perhaps even the average Joe, would be the happiest.  In other words, the best driver’s car would be the one that could make even the most “anti-car” person crack a smile every once in a while, and of course, leave the enthusiast with the feeling that he or she has reached the pinnacle of all that life has to offer.

 

In the past, the winners have included numerous Porsche 911 models, and well basically, just a few others here and there, including the Ferrari 458 Italia in 2011, the Camaro Z/28 in 2014, and the McClaren 570S last year in 2016.  In what used to be called the “best handling car” competition, Motor Trend has done a pretty good job of holding true to their original mindset of choosing a driver-focused vehicle to hold the title.

 

To be fair though, most cars on this list would make almost everyone smile.  I mean, it’s not like the acceleration of the Nissan GTR is boring to even a professional driver.  Let’s look at it this way.  Motor Trend is looking at these cars through the eyes of men and women that drive this kind of car all the time.  From that perspective, it makes finding the best driver’s car a monumental challenge.  They look through different lenses than the average guy looking for a performance car to drive on the weekend.  They have to make adjustments to those lenses to cater to everyone else who doesn’t get to drive cars like this very often.  Even so, I think there is a certain “mundaneness” that certainly comes with the enviable job of driving hundreds of different cars a year as a daily job.

 

We must give credit where credit is due then.  The guys at Motor Trend have tackled one of the hardest jobs there is.  They have effectively picked one car out of thousands to hold the title of “the best” in one of the pickiest, diverse, and opinionated communities in the world.  Now it’s time act on those opinions and analyze their decision a little bit more.  Of course, we are out of time this week, so come back to see what all was right and wrong about their choices.

–SWF