The 10 best vehicles Ars Technica drove in 2025

Of all the cars we've driven and reviewed this year, these are our picks.

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[mbmcavoy]

Hmmm. I think I'd just turn off the Auto Lock completely then.

I would, but the CX-9 is primarily my wife's car, and she wants it on. I suppose these annoyances bother her less than they bother me, and of all the things in life it's a pretty darn small issue.

The EV6 is primarily my car, so I'm not at all upset it's "missing" the auto-lock function.

Does "Get out." not work on your kids? Or kids in general anymore? It used to work on me. Also usually successful when I was growing up was something like "We've got shit to do. Move your ass." Times like this make me realize I really did grow up in a different time... and I'm starting to get old.

This sounds rather a lot like blaming our parenting style for why a very minor feature of a car does not work well for me in a way that has absolutely zero impact on anyone else. Not really appreciated.

No, telling our kids to "get out" very often does not work (my younger son has pathological demand avoidance). I don't actually need my kids to get out quickly most of the time, and this just leads to a situation where everybody is pointlessly angry. I'd much rather not pass that particular generational trauma on to my children.

 

[huskcummerbund]

I would, but the CX-9 is primarily my wife's car, and she wants it on. I suppose these annoyances bother her less than they bother me, and of all the things in life it's a pretty darn small issue.

The EV6 is primarily my car, so I'm not at all upset it's "missing" the auto-lock function.

That's fair.

This sounds rather a lot like blaming our parenting style for why a very minor feature of a car does not work well for me in a way that has absolutely zero impact on anyone else. Not really appreciated.

I apologize. The comment was intended to be humorous rather than an indictment of parenting style.

No, telling our kids to "get out" very often does not work (my younger son has pathological demand avoidance). I don't actually need my kids to get out quickly most of the time, and this just leads to a situation where everybody is pointlessly angry. I'd much rather not pass that particular generational trauma on to my children.

Oof, didn't realize there was a medical reason behind that one. Not even sure what to say about it. Hopefully they'll be successful in building coping skills as they grow up.

 

[PhilGil]

I guess they didn’t drive a juniper? We are picking up our 4th ModelY in a few days. All things considered, it’s the best car on earth, IMO.

I can't completely avoid the tech oligarchy, but I wouldn't contribute a penny to Elon the Nazi's billion-dollar pay package, even if the Model Y was the best car in the entire multiverse.

 

[Honeybog]

I guess they didn’t drive a juniper? We are picking up our 4th ModelY in a few days. All things considered, it’s the best car on earth, IMO.

Your 4th Model Y… in the 5 years since they debuted? Y?

 

[markgo]

The tires aren't the problem. The wheels are. You should've got smaller wheels. Keeping the same circumference, smaller wheels are both more efficient and less likely to be damaged by a pothole. And less expensive. And reduce NVH.

Obviously it’s the wheels. Which require low profile tires. Which do a poor job of protecting the wheels.

And Volvo provided no choices on wheel size. Many models don’t.

 

[Flipper35]

Weird. I think every vehicle I've driven with auto wipers had the ability to revert to manual mode. Not being able to do that would be a deal breaker. Also, only one vehicle I've driven had automatic headlights to worked the way I want them to. A '99 Grand Cherokee. Every other vehicle I've driven with it has been far too quick with flicking the lights on and off again, to the point that doing less than 70mph under an overpass would make them click on and off again. That annoys me when I see it in my rearview mirror, or when the car in front of me lights up like they are hitting the brakes for no reason, so it also annoys me when the vehicle I'm driving does it. So I usually end up disabling it. Would be a good place for an Advanced Settings menu, so that people like me could actually tweak those behaviors.

I followed a Lexus through town just after twilight. Lights were going on and off every streetlight on the outskirts.

Our van is not that bad, comes on with the wipers and stay on a minute or two when the wipers get turned off. Same with dark areas. They come on fairly quick, but are slow to go off. Not sure what the algorithm is, but works pretty well. The F150 come on when it is dark and go off when it is light and are pretty simple. I do have to override that one sometimes.

 

[Flipper35]

Your 4th Model Y… in the 5 years since they debuted? Y?

Maybe the kept the other 3? Dunno. Best car? To each their own, but it would never replace a minivan for long hauls.

 

[huskcummerbund]

Obviously it’s the wheels. Which require low profile tires. Which do a poor job of protecting the wheels.

And Volvo provided no choices on wheel size. Many models don’t.

Two things on a long list that I hate about a lot of new cars: unnecessarily large wheels and the lack of options.

 

[DarthSlack]

Your 4th Model Y… in the 5 years since they debuted? Y?

Somebody has to foot the bill for Musk's $1T payday.

 

[Errum]

I guess they didn’t drive a juniper? We are picking up our 4th ModelY in a few days. All things considered, it’s the best car on earth, IMO.

Best car on earth — really?

Good

• Top notch drivetrain
• Decent range, charger network
• Practical configuration
• Price

Bad

• Not 800V
• Dubious range claims
• “Less is less” interior
• Terrible minor controls
• Ride quality (unless Juniper update has fixed that)
• Build quality (same disclaimer)
• Ill proportioned tending to ugly, so let’s just say “plain” (bless her heart)

Ugly

• Never ending Autopilot/FSD fiasco
• “Can’t believe a thing they say” company ethics
• Musk

 

[rochefort]

Genuine question: do you actually believe that this follows logically from my comment? Why or why not?

Genuine answer: yes. Your statement was the equivalent of saying "when I see someone muttering about the Lizard People, waving a knife, and who's name starts with a 'P', I keep my distance." My statement was the equivalent of saying, "so if their name starts with an 'S', it's fine?"

 

[MacBrave]

Meh, I'll still stick with a Subaru.

 

[icypioneer]

The EV offerings from Hyundai, Mercedes and BMW look nice. As someone with a 2014 Volt still going strong, I remain disappointed that there remains no new Extended-Range EVs being offered in the US to potentially upgrade to. None of the current plug-in hybrid EVs I'm aware of have the single-speed transmission I've come to love.

Oh well, I've driven both my last two cars past their 20 years of age, and can only hope for some actual extended-range offerings by 2034. That and a return to more thoughtfully designed dashes/consoles with tactile buttons and knobs, so that I can adjust my climate controls without looking at a screen.

 

[ispshadow]

Civic and 911 make sense, but I can't take any list with a nissan at the top seriously. There is a reason they specialize is junk for subprime borrowers.

In defense of Nissan, we have a 10 year old Rogue with just short of 160k miles on it. It has had incredibly light maintenance (except for oil changes more often than suggested) its entire life - engine and cabin filters, brake pads, battery once, and the AC blower motor. She's been a ridiculously dependable vehicle.

 

[Anticipat3]

I decided it was time to upgrade my 2015 Leaf this year, and I looked at several of the options in this list. I did a test drive in a 2026 Leaf and was very impressed. The sticker on the SV+ trim is about $36k, which is exactly what the sticker on my 2015 was when it was new -- but I didn't buy it new, I bought it with 25k miles fresh off the lease for $12k. If I thought I could ride out a couple more years with my 2015 and then buy a 2026 off-lease for $12k I probably would have, but I think with the removal of the EV tax credits we aren't going to see that kind of depreciation this time around.

If these smokin' off-lease deals probably won't be a thing in the future, it got me to look harder at what's out there today -- and I found a 2023 Ioniq 6 SEL AWD that originally stickered for $50k priced at $20k. It's been incredible, but I am envious of all the updates that the MY2025 Ioniq 5 got. It deserves its place on this list.

If I was going to buy a gas car instead of an EV, It would have 100% been the new Civic Hybrid. I test drove one earlier this year to see just how close it could deliver on its promise of driving like an EV -- and let me tell you, it delivers. I think Honda is way ahead of the rest of the market here, everyone else is now adopting this style of "engine is mostly just a generator" setup in their future hybrids.

While it's out of my price range, I also looked enviously at that BMW iX3. That Neue Klasse i3 is going to be a smash hit, I suspect a lot of buyers will be former Tesla owners that didn't want another Tesla but didn't want a "downgrade."

 

[NetMage]

Best car on earth — really?

So you haven’t driven it but think you’re qualified to post what’s wrong with it?

 

[DaiMacculate]

Just bought a Hyundai inster/casper and I asked the dealer about this. They promised a “few days” repair time and a loaner car, as the needed parts are in good supply. In Norway, at least.

So, no real fix but probably quicker repair time.

Yeah I brought mine in on Dec 24th (Ioniq 5) and still waiting to get an update, was told a month is not abnormal for a wait time. Really getting tired of all this winning in the USA.

 

[sonicmerlin]

Not sure why Nissan didn’t add battery capacity to the higher leaf trim levels. The higher you go, and the more motors you get, the lower the range.

 

[Flipper35]

In defense of Nissan, we have a 10 year old Rogue with just short of 160k miles on it. It has had incredibly light maintenance (except for oil changes more often than suggested) its entire life - engine and cabin filters, brake pads, battery once, and the AC blower motor. She's been a ridiculously dependable vehicle.

As an opposing view, we had so much bad luck with our 2013 Rogue, which has since gone to our daughter and stranded her twice, that I will never buy another Nissan. It only has 110k miles on it. It is also by far the most uncomfortable seats I have ever been in,

 

[Dr Gitlin]

I guess they didn’t drive a juniper? We are picking up our 4th ModelY in a few days. All things considered, it’s the best car on earth, IMO.

You’re going to be popular here.

For many, the growing number of people who’ve burned alive in crashed teslas, unable to be rescued by first responders, is reason enough to not buy the fascist EV.

 

[cptskippy]

The new Nissan Leaf made it to #1! That is a rather high praise and perhaps means that folks interested in an EV should definitely take a look at it.

I still have a 2015 Nissan Leaf and, with the exception of range, it's a perfectly cromulent car.

We had a Rogue that has since gone to our daughter. Our first road trip with it we had to buy pillows to sit on at the first stop. I have never sat in worse seats, and I have been in some pretty bad seats and the only thing close was a Dodge Journey (not ours, no way, no thank you)

I'm still in shock. The car had less than 400 miles on it and was a worse driving

My CX5 has the autolock stuff and I tried it for all of about 10 minutes then turned it off.

Nifty but not for me. I just use the fob or the door button.

I just got an ID.Buzz and ended up disabling auto-lock after it failed to work. We came back after dinner to find someone had rummaged through the glove box and stole a charging adapter.

 

[MacBrave]

You’re going to be popular here.

For many, the growing number of people who’ve burned alive in crashed teslas, unable to be rescued by first responders, is reason enough to not buy the fascist EV.

Please. I assume you also don't like Volkswagen, since that company was created due to a decree made by a real fascist.

 

[Flipper35]

Please. I assume you also don't like Volkswagen, since that company was created due to a decree made by a real fascist.

The problem with that argument is VW is no longer associated with that person and hasn't been tied to fascists for decades, Tesla still is.

 

[dxprog]

What has been your experience with the retractable door handles, especially now that we're firmly in glove weather.

As for the retraction itself, I hardly ever see them retracted. They'll pop out when the keyfob is ~10 feet from the car and unlocks the driver side by the time I get to the door. Now, the touch "button" for unlocking the other doors... we'll see how that stacks up with gloves on :|

 

[iim]

I test drove a ‘25 Civic Hybrid. Truly amazing drivetrain but the almost mandatory Google infotainment account was a showstopper for me. Turn over another part of my life to Google? I did my best to find and read through the user agreements and privacy give-aways I’d need to submit to just to listen to some tuneage while I drive. Maybe there are work-arounds involving Bluetooth or some other I/O that Google could take away with a simple update? Nooooo .. they’d never do something like that, would they? Too costly a purchase to take a flyer. Civic Hybrid … no thanks.

That’s only the case for the civic hybrid’s top tier sport touring trim.

You can go one level down and get the civic hybrid sport. it’s a few thousand dollars less it doesn’t have quite as many features but it’s still very well equipped, and doesn’t use Google for the infotainment system.

Otherwise mechanically, it’s exactly the same, same hybrid set up.

 

[rabby]

If you have opportunity to try some EVs from BYD and Xiaomi, you will find a lot more BEST EVs.

 

[Hydrargyrum]

If you have opportunity to try some EVs from BYD and Xiaomi, you will find a lot more BEST EVs.

I drove an MG4 and a BYD Seal before finally choosing a Kia EV3. The Chinese cars appear to be very good value for money (or at the very least have attractively low cost of entry - I don’t have the data for total cost of ownership) but the Kias and Hyundais were nicer cars. The MG in particular is one of the cheapest full BEVs in my market but that low price was very apparent in the product.

 

[MacBrave]

The problem with that argument is VW is no longer associated with that person and hasn't been tied to fascists for decades, Tesla still is.

So if Musk sold/left Tesla completely it would once again become the EV darling of the Ars cognoscenti. Got it.
Happy virtue signaling.

 

[Flipper35]

I am not sure that phrase means what you think it means.

 

[Mordac]

Goodness me. With few exceptions those are some ugly, ugly cars.

 

[markgo]

Well, I was going to say auto-locking is not something I would like until I saw how hard it is to lock the doors. I would have never thought you couldn't lock the doors with the car off or the doors open. The 5 was high on the list for replacing our current commuter sedan.

Key fob works. Digital keys on your phone works. App works (albeit a bit slowly) I’m not sure where you got the idea that it’s hard to lock. And while capacitive touch isn’t as sensitive as it was on my VW it’s never really bothered me.

I have never wanted auto lock/unlock, nor does anybody who walks past their parked car regularly.

 

[vidsurfr]

Where are you that daytime rates are lower than night time?

Southern California, but I think that will be case wherever solar is a large portion of the supply.

 

[Flipper35]

Key fob works. Digital keys on your phone works. App works (albeit a bit slowly) I’m not sure where you got the idea that it’s hard to lock. And while capacitive touch isn’t as sensitive as it was on my VW it’s never really bothered me.

I have never wanted auto lock/unlock, nor does anybody who walks past their parked car regularly.

I was going by the post previous to min on what the requirements are for the door to actually lock.

I love the auto unlock, but it will only unlock once I put my hand in the door handle with the FOB in my pocket. I don't have one of those fancy proximity auto unlock EVs.

 

[DaiMacculate]

Yeah I brought mine in on Dec 24th (Ioniq 5) and still waiting to get an update, was told a month is not abnormal for a wait time. Really getting tired of all this winning in the USA.

Just in case anyone cares (doubtful) got my car back with a new ICCU and 12V battery today, works great. The repair techs at the hyundai dealership had no insight into whether this new ICCU is going to be any more reliable than first one though.

 

[EarendilStar]

Glad it's not just me wondering about the software issues on the Ioniq.

Besides finding some of it unintuitive, I haven’t run into any bugs. What have you seen? Maybe I don’t recognize it as a bug!

When I'm in parking lots and I see other Ioniqs, I always check to see if the door handles are popped out (which means it's unlocked) -- they usually always are.

I’ve not seen an unlocked Ioniq, and Seattle is littered with them.

the door lock button on the inside of the driver's door doesn't work unless the car is on. Attempting to lock the doors by any method won't work if any of the doors are open (so there is a lot of standing around for my family of four get out of the car). Coupled to that is the poor response of the capacitive touch button on the outside door handle.

I’ve never bumped into the lock/unlock with the car off. That’s interesting. I do wish I could lock the doors before the kids are out. The capacitive touch has been flawless for me. I wonder if yours is faulty and the warranty would replace it?

For what it's worth, the door auto locking module I ordered is one sold by ioniq guy. He is reselling one that was built by shark racing, but he has added an adapter that plugs into your trailer hitch harness in the trunk, rather than having to splice into your car's cam system.

How reliable has that been? I’d hate for it to work 99% of the time, tricking me into thinking it’s locked after I’m already walking away.

 

[NetMage]

Just in case anyone cares (doubtful) got my car back with a new ICCU and 12V battery today, works great. The repair techs at the hyundai dealership had no insight into whether this new ICCU is going to be any more reliable than first one though.

With a 3 - 10% failure rate, you’re odds are good you’ll be okay.