zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
The 15 Best-Reviewed Cars Of 2012
The 15 Best-Reviewed Cars Of 2012-November 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:10

We launched our new review system this year by claiming that and we'd do our best to fix them. Our solution? A new format that gives a tangible number enthusiast's could use to decide how worthy a vehicle was of ownership.

Our staff has managed to put approximately 40 new and classic cars through "The Jalopnik Review" system in the approximately six months we've been using it. We gave each car a score based on a 0-to-100 scale weighted to 50 that looked at factors enthusiast's cared about like gearbox, handling, and acceleration.

Here are the 15 highest scores from this year of testing.

Not every car on this list is a supercar and not every car costs over $100,000, although that certainly seems to help. Because we don't do a class-based system you have the $25,000 Subaru BRZ ahead of cars costing five times as much.

This list also doesn't include vehicles we reviewed before June, so admirable vehicles like the didn't make the cut, even though it's fantastic. Look for it next year. It's also weighted towards what we drive and thus not a list of the best cars out there (thus no Mustang).

The new 2013 Porsche Boxster is an absolutely terrific car to drive. This sort of pains me to say,…

You can see the full list of reviewed vehicles as well as the scores . Click on any image to read the full review.

What do you think of the system? What could be better? Did we meet our goal of making reviews more interesting or did we make it worse? Which car was over-valued? Which was under-valued?

McLaren was predestined to build a version of its MP4-12C for the pate-tanning set. But is the new…

McLaren was predestined to build a version of its MP4-12C for the pate-tanning set. But is the new Spider as that shares its nerdy alphanumer-name, or is it -

The 2012 MP4-12C is McLaren Automotive's first attempt at a sports car for the regular wealthy, not

The 2012 MP4-12C is McLaren Automotive's first attempt at a sports car for the regular wealthy, not the ones with unicorn stables at their million-square-foot ectopods in Jackson Hole Nebula.

Chrysler's SRT performance unit has tweaked and relaunched the old Dodge Viper under the SRT brand.

Chrysler's SRT performance unit has tweaked and relaunched the old Dodge Viper under the SRT brand. Is it a rehash of the V10 beast with the Neon-esque interior that precedes it, or has SRT written a new chapter in the book of Viper?

Iconic is a tired word. In the past, it was reserved as a word of reverence for ground breakers and

Iconic is a tired word. In the past, it was reserved as a word of reverence for ground breakers and revolutionaries that radically transformed the future.

For decades, Audi was synonymous with rally excellence. In the 2000s, Audi turned its focus to…

For decades, Audi was synonymous with rally excellence. In the 2000s, Audi turned its focus to sports car racing, where it tortured the entire grid at Le Mans, abusing the field 11 times in 13 years.

In 2006, Audi brought some of that spirit to the road with the R8, the first mid-engined super car...

Bentley's seen eights come and go; the 8-litre coach of 1930, the cloth-seated Eight "training…

Bentley's seen eights come and go; the 8-litre coach of 1930, the cloth-seated Eight "training Bentley" of the 1980s, the Le Mans-winning Speed 8 prototype of 2003.

My gripe with BMW has never been about performance. Nor has it been about quality. I have just…

My gripe with BMW has never been about performance. Nor has it been about quality. I have just never connected with the styling, finding their appearance dull and uninspiring.

Movies tell us that international spies only drive their cars for 20 minutes, max, before they blow

Movies tell us that international spies only drive their cars for 20 minutes, max, before they blow up. Can Aston Martin build a flagship grand tourer you'd want to keep longer than that?

(Full Disclosure: Aston Martin wanted us to drive the Vanquish so bad, that they flew me to New Orleans for a...

The Camaro ZL1 Coupe is one of the most surprising cars I have driven. Given its hefty waistline…

The is one of the most surprising cars I have driven. Given its hefty waistline and reputation as a monster muscle car, the handling performance is quite astonishing.

The Subaru BRZ is The Car We Demanded, Well Actually The Other Car We Demanded After We Demanded…

The is The Car We Demanded, Well Actually The Other Car We Demanded After We Demanded The Cadillac CTS-V Station Wagon But Who's Counting Demands?

As I plunged through a sweeping set of bends, deep in the Alaskan wilderness, I almost missed the…

As I plunged through a sweeping set of bends, deep in the Alaskan wilderness, I almost missed the big-ass black bear sitting in the middle of the road.

Excuse the junior high speech class cliche, but Webster's Dictionary defines a 'coupe' as "a…

Excuse the junior high speech class cliche, but Webster's Dictionary defines a 'coupe' as "a two-door automobile often seating only two persons." Over the last decade, the German automakers have pretty much told Merriam Webster to go to hell.

Auto scribes are rarely the creative type and we're all easily led to follow the storyline laid out

Auto scribes are rarely the creative type and we're all easily led to follow the storyline laid out for us by the car companies. In the case of the that story line is "has Cadillac beaten the 3-series?" Go ahead and read some other reviews.

Ever since the dawn of luxury sport sedan time, the BMW 3-series has been your honors student…

Ever since the dawn of luxury sport sedan time, the BMW 3-series has been your honors student cousin at the family Thanksgiving dinner. Audi, Mercedes, and, most recently, Cadillac have all tried to beat the 3-series at its own game, but in one way or the other, they have always come up short.

Jason Bourne. Under his white-collar appearance and cool demeanor is a wild animal that — at the…

Jason Bourne. Under his white-collar appearance and cool demeanor is a wild animal that - at the push of a button - can transform into a pure, unsavory killing machine.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
For $6,000, this Mazda goes bah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
For $6,000, this Mazda goes bah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Mazda used to say in their ads that while other cars go boing, boing boing, theirs go hmmmmm. Well, for today's RX7, that might need to be changed to hissssssss, because it rocks a Cobra V8. But will its price make you go hmmmmm? Yesterday's dropped not only its top,...
Nov 4, 2025
For $9,550, Go Saleen on the focus blue
For $9,550, Go Saleen on the focus blue
Like Carroll Shelby before him, Steve Saleen is a former racer who has made a name for himself building performance cars. Today's Saleen Focus N2O may not have the cachet of Carroll's name, but is its price noteworthy? Steve Saleen started out racing Porsches in club events. He transitioned to...
Nov 4, 2025
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302: First Drive
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302: First Drive
Ford's last upgrades to the back in 2010 gave engineers a platform on which to build the best Mustang ever. So that's exactly what they did. Yes, the and it's epic. Disclaimer: Ford wanted us to drive the and Boss 302 Laguna Seca so badly they flew me to Monterey,...
Nov 4, 2025
For $5,500, I am number five
For $5,500, I am number five
Patience is a virtue, and for the seller of today's BMW 535iM, who has been trying to unload his car for two years, his tenacity rivals that of the biblical Job. But, do good things come to those who wait? Yesterday there was no waiting on and fully 71% of...
Nov 4, 2025
For $5,990, a fix it again tony time-traveler
For $5,990, a fix it again tony time-traveler
While advanced in design, Fiat's X1/9 was ephemeral in its execution, and few have stood the test of time. Today's '78 however has not only passed time's test, it went back for some alloy-rim extra credit. It turns out big willie style was a page of the Karma Sutra that...
Nov 4, 2025
For $13,980 Canadian, roll big willie style
For $13,980 Canadian, roll big willie style
When it comes to automotive artistic expression, Chevy's Suburban offers a generous canvas. Today's custom '98 may be more urban than suburban, but is its price a work of art? Poor Steve Saleen, first he chooses a monastic haircut that only serves to highlight his male pattern baldness, and then...
Nov 4, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved